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Cascade County

SNAP-Education

Published: 2020
By Nina Polk
The Montana State University Extension Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) supports low-income Montanans in making the healthy choice the easy choice. SNAP-Ed teaches low-income youth and adults how to live, eat, and shop within their communities to make healthier choices. SNAP-Ed offers free nutrition classes to first, third and fifth grade students who attend eligible elementary schools. In Cascade County, Nina Polk, SNAP-Ed instructor, taught the YUM (Youth Understanding MyPlate) series of nutrition classes at three qualifying elementary schools in Great Falls Public School, Chief Joseph Elementary, Longfellow Elementary and Lewis & Clark Elementary. School closures in March due to COVID-19 led to third grade students adapting to an online format to complete their series. Behavior change from the YUM series included the following: • 84% of youth improved their diet quality via their ability to choose foods according to Federal Dietary Recommendations or gained knowledge. • 32% of youth improved their physical activity practices or gained knowledge. • 55% of youth use safe food handling practices more often or gained knowledge. For SNAP-eligible adults in Cascade County, SNAP-Ed provides CREATES, a one-time, one-hour class which is an introduction to the Eating Smart, Being Active series of classes. SNAP-Ed also provides Eating Smart, Being Active (ESBA), a series of nine one-hour classes over nine weeks covering easy meal planning according to MyPlate, ideas for stretching food dollars, tips for increasing physical activity and tasty ways to eat healthy. The online ESBA class series has three components – lecture video, physical activity video, and a discussion call with with SNAP educator via WebEx. During the 2020 grant year, 78 adult and youth classes were taught, reaching 232 youth and adults through 13 series and three CREATE classes.
A rice bowl and other vegetables are pictured, similar to meals that are shared in SNAP-Ed classes.