This summer, the UConn Healthy Family CT SNAP-Ed program within the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR) has expanded its nutrition education programs that encourage healthy eating for low-income seniors.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal program designed to help low-income people afford healthy foods. SNAP-Ed adds the all-important educational aspect to help people understand nutrition and become informed shoppers.
“Part of the SNAP-Ed program is providing nutrition education to those who need it most so they can use their food dollars wisely,” says Donna Zigmont, UConn SNAP-Ed registered dietitian.
UConn Healthy Family CT SNAP-Ed provides evidence-based food and nutrition information focused on scientific evidence and key nutrition messages from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the USDA MyPlate Principles.
(We) provide nutrition education to those who need it most so they can use their food dollars wisely. -Donna Zigmont
The Healthy Family CT SNAP-Ed team includes educators like Zigmont and students enrolled in the dietetics program at Department of Paramedical Sciences. These students gain valuable experience working with communities in need, and community members receive practical knowledge and tools to improve food quality from the trained students.
In 2020, even though the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many normal programming activities, UConn HFCT SNAP-Ed reached 70,097 people with 329 programming sessions, primarily in the greater Hartford area. The HFCT SNAP-Ed team also deployed a new website, Healthy Family CTwhich provides valuable nutrition information, uses SNAP benefits to purchase food online, and a nutrition game to help children make healthy food choices.
This summer, HFCT SNAP-Ed significantly expanded its partnership with West Hartford Fellowship Housing, an independent living community. UConn HFCT SNAP-Ed established this partnership ten years ago and offers them monthly programming. A major theme of these sessions is eating and cooking on a budget, an important consideration for SNAP recipients.
Each session in the program covers a specific nutrition topic, such as eating and cooking with whole grains or the importance of fiber in your diet. Sessions include a cooking demonstration that reinforces the nutrition topic covered. At the end of each session, participants receive a reinforcement of the take-home program which is usually a basic cooking tool to help them make the demonstrated recipe. Items included a juicer, measuring cup and cutting board.
This summer, the scholarship received a grant from the West Hartford Greater Together Community Fund awarded by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to collaborate with a local farm (Rosedale Farms & Vineyards in Simsbury) to provide residents with fresh produce to supplement the HFCT SNAP- Education classes and cooking demonstrations.
“They go hand in hand,” says Zigmont. “If (SNAP recipients) don’t have access to healthy foods, how can residents gain self-confidence by preparing a variety of healthy foods? Once they have access, they need to be educated on how to use these foods.
The summer program, called the Fresh Start program, emphasized the benefits of seasonal eating. By understanding what produce is in season in Connecticut at different times of the year, people can identify fresh, inexpensive fruits and vegetables for a healthy diet throughout the year.
The Fellowship also worked with Terryville-based Nutmeg Spice Company to provide seasonings for cooking demonstrations and resulted in a specific lesson on using herbs and spices instead of salt to season foods.
Participants learned how to prepare recipes like summer squash medley, caprese salad and stuffed peppers in a slow cooker, which was the final reinforcement of the program that participants took home.
“It encouraged healthy eating and demonstrated that cooking at home is not very difficult – anyone can do it,” says Isabella Gorski, a Master of Science in Health Promotion student. Gorski designed and led the weekly lessons for the Fresh Start program.
Zigmont says showing people how to prepare these foods and allowing participants to taste them allows individuals to prepare the recipes themselves.
“To taste is to believe,” says Zigmont. “Many people are put off by certain foods because they don’t know how to prepare them and therefore think they won’t like them.”
Fellowship resident Dee Asvestas participated in the Fresh Start program.
“Each program was unique and caught our interest,” explains Asvestas. “You’re never too old to learn new things.”
Gorski says one of her most successful lessons was when she taught participants to “eat the rainbow” and understand how to produce a colorful variety of produce.
“It encouraged them to try new fruits and vegetables and get out of their comfort zone,” says Gorski.
Lessons include pre- and post-participation assessments to determine participants’ knowledge before and after lessons, in addition to their willingness and motivation to change behavior after the lesson. The post-participation survey asks participants to commit to a single achievable goal, such as making the recipe themselves or using less salt and more herbs and other spices when cooking that week.
Gorski says she hopes educational programs focused on older adults will continue and expand, as nutrition education typically focuses on younger children.
“We often forget about the elderly population,” says Gorski. “They want to learn as much as young children.”
Zigmont says the scholarship is looking to reapply for funding to run this program again next summer, possibly incorporating a gardening education project.
“It was definitely a big success,” says Zigmont. “People loved it and really appreciated it. »
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