Improving with Ravalli County SNAP-Education

Published: 2022
By Leah Burnham

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP) in The Bitterroot Valley is a cherished and relied-upon program by many constituents countywide. In the 2022 grant cycle, $50,849 in SNAP-Ed program support was provided to Ravalli County, including one staff member at 30 hours/week, educational supplies including food samples and other materials for program participants, and travel expenses to get to and from community organizations throughout Ravalli County. According to evaluated data, the behavior change in adult graduates of the SNAP-Ed program in the year 2022 is as follows: - 100% diet quality improvement indicators (i.e., eating fruits, vegetables, red, orange, and dark green vegetables, drinking less regular soda (not diet), drinking less fruit punch, fruit drinks, sweet tea, or sports drinks, and cooking dinner at home). - 100% food safety practices improvement (i.e., washing hands before preparing food, washing all items and surfaces after cutting raw meat or seafood, not thawing frozen food at room temperature, or using a meat thermometer. - 100% physical activity improvement (i.e., exercising for at least 30 minutes, doing workouts to build and strengthen muscles, or make small changes to be more active). - 0% food security improvement (i.e., not eating less than you wanted, so there was more food for your family or having enough money to get food for your family). - 80% improvement in diet quality, aided in an improved ability to choose foods according to Federal Dietary Recommendations or gained knowledge. - 43% improvement in physical activity, tended to improve their physical activity practices or gained knowledge. In the 69 education classes hosted by Ravalli County SNAP-Ed, 55% of the attendees who reported increases in safe food handling use demonstrated improved safe food handling practices more often or gained knowledge. Ravalli County SNAP-Ed also observed behavior changes in youth graduates. Throughout 2022, Ravalli County SNAP-Ed reached 218 children and adults in their 11-class series and their single-class opportunities.