Food $ense Utah State University Extension Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science Utah’s SNAP-Ed Program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education) Heidi LeBlanc, Food $ense Director Debra Christofferson, Assistant Food $ense Director

Hungry More than 36 million people, over 11 percent of the total population in American live in households considered to be food insecure Of the 36 million people, more than 12 million were children. This represents more than 16 percent of all children in the U.S. Utah’s food insecurity rate exceeds the national rate, with 12.5 percent of the population living in food insecure households. Utahn’s Against Hunger

Can American’s Afford a Healthy Diet? For many American households, achieving an affordable healthy diet will require reducing their expenditures on less nutritious foods and moving nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits and and vegetables, to the center of their plates and budgets.

Utah’s Food $ense Program Even the United States, as the wealthiest nation in the world, is home to many families who wonder where their next meal is coming from or how their food is going to get their family through the entire month. The Food $ense program aims to help those low- income families budget properly and get the best nutrition. Food $ense tries to live the Chinese proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Food $ense Goals Health Promotion Establish Healthy Eating Habits Increase Physical Activity Disease Prevention Postpone the onset of diet-related chronic disease

Food $ense WORKS!!! Food $ense has proven to Increase fruit and vegetable consumption Decrease unhealthy fat intake Increase physical activity Increase family meal time And lots of other great behaviors that help families and individuals have enough food until the next pay check

How Food $ense Works... USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services program flows money through state SNAP offices (Department of Workforce Services) Utah State University contracts with the SNAP office and provides education in every county in Utah, through the Cooperative Extension Service Counties hire NEAs (nutrition education assistants) who are trained through Food $ense to provide basic nutrition education to low-income families and individuals in Utah.

What Food $ense does... Provides BASIC nutrition education, that focuses on eating more nutrient dense foods such as fruits and vegetables: At schools In afterschool programs In homes In group classes And other...

What Food $ense does... Youth Curriculum Targets ages 0-18 Provides a variety of curriculum topics that meet the State Office of Education requirements for health and nutrition Curriculum is based upon National Dietary Guidelines and MyPyramid NEAs can provide assistance to the teachers, schools, etc. Or the school can us the curriculum and use the NEA as a trainer to the teachers...

What Food $ense does... Adult Curriculum Targets ages18 through adulthood Provides a variety of curriculum topics from cooking, healthy eating, budgeting, meal planning, shopping skills, gardening, etc. Curriculum is based upon National Dietary Guidelines and MyPyramid

Food $ense 2009 Data 10,655 adults taught 13,843 youth taught 2,004,891 individuals reached through indirect education

“This material was funded by USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.” In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, political beliefs or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C or call (202) (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.