Do You Have Food $ense?: Utilizing Community Partnerships to Reduce Food Insecurity and Improve Health Behaviors

The purpose of this program is to develop a collaborative partnership between OSU Extension Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) and a Interparish Ministries Mobile Food Pantry to address a 12 percent increase in the number of individuals seeking food assistance between 2014 and 2015, as reported by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and local food pantry usage data. Both organizations are bonded by common missions striving to eliminate multiple daily struggles for limited resource families living in areas where access to affordable and nutritious food is limited. The aim of the program is to educate participants from a faith-based mobile food pantry about the importance of planning and preparing nutritious meals. Instruction is based on the principles from MyPlate Food Guide and also incorporates information from Extension's SNAP-Ed lesson plans. The informal atmosphere of the sessions encourages participants to openly share personal experiences about providing and preparing food for their own families while reducing food insecurity. The program consisted of six theme sessions held June-November 2017. The sessions provided an opportunity for group discussion focusing upon a designated topic and incorporated participant's input reflecting ways to improve current choices emphasizing healthier lifestyle choices. Teamwork was emphasized between Extension educators and SNAP-Ed program staff building a program delivering a meaningful message that participants can immediately put into practice. The local team not only includes the Extension FCS educator and SNAP-Ed staff, but the Agriculture and Natural Resources educator and the Master Gardener Volunteer program. Evaluation includes both pre- and post-assessment data. Evaluations revealed both knowledge and food preparation skill gains. Participants documented success stories include: "practiced canning skills learned during class in their home kitchens, tasted new foods and incorporated them into weekly family menus, enjoyed sharing and talking about my personal cooking experiences with others and numerous requests for another series offered next summer."AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Margaret Jenkins, The Ohio State University Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Clermont County, jenkins.188@osu.edu (Corresponding Author); Mona Glover, SNAP-Ed Program Assistant, The Ohio State University Extension, Clermont County; Danielle Combs, SNAP-Ed Program Assistant, The Ohio State University Extension, Clermont County.Learn how community partnerships can be used to influence and change health behaviors among limited-resource audiences. Program participants learn through "dialogue approach to adult learning" including hands-on food preparation and food tastings. The presenters will demonstrate the teaching technique outlined in Norris' From Telling to Teaching resource. Program goals, methods, recruitment, lesson topics and evaluation will be shared