Taylor Hart, Extension program assistant, welcomes you to the Meigs County SNAP-Ed program.

The Snap-Ed program in Meigs County targets audiences that include; local school districts with school year activities and summer activities, senior groups, and community programs.

We invite adults with limited resources to attend FREE hands-on programs that teach the basics of nutrition, meal planning, budgets, food shopping, proper food preparation, and food safety. They provide Nutrition Education Programs that increase knowledge in making healthy food and activity choices to audiences ranging from preschool age to adults. USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Choose My Plate are major resources for their programs.

Youth programming utilizes curriculums such as Eat, Play & Grow and Balance My Day. These focus on eating a variety of healthy foods and colors along with incorporating physical activity. The SNAP-Ed Program is available to school buildings with children living in limited resource homes. The lessons are centered on nutrition and physical activity for children ages 2 - 18.

All programs are free and include various activities for healthy food choices, food safety, saving money on food and food planning, and physical activity. The SNAP-Ed program is completed as a series of lessons or sessions. Each session provides evidence based nutrition education in alignment with the USDA MyPlate guidelines. They are designed to meet specific population’s nutritional needs and learning abilities. For the best learning experience the series aims to be more than 3 lessons and last approximately 45-60 minutes for adults, and 30-45 minutes for youth. All materials, take home items, food samples, and education is provided to each participant for free by the SNAP-Ed program. Lesson topics encompass the MyPlate components of: introducing MyPlate, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, dairy, and food shopping. These lessons can include themes such as stretching family food dollars, choosing and cooking lean meats for health, planning meals at home, and cooking nutritious meals for one.

We are excited to share this great programming and collaborate with you and your organization. For more information about SNAP-Ed in Meigs County or to schedule for your group, please contact our office at (740) 992-6696.

Learn more about SNAP-Ed by visiting http://fcs.osu.edu/nutrition/fnp and http://snap.nal.usda.gov.