MSU Extension Nutrition

The Big Picture

31,805 youth up to the age of 18 reached.

MSU Extension Action

MSU Extension partners with Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to provide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed), a nutrition education program to reduce hunger and food insecurity and promote healthy eating habits.

The Impact

Youth – K-2nd knowledge and behavior change

After participating in a SNAP-Ed series, K-2nd grade youth teachers observed the following improvements in their classrooms:

• 86% Students observed washing hands more often
• 57% Bringing fruits and vegetables as snacks
• 97% Identify healthy foods
• 89% Willing to try new foods
• 82% Being more physically active
• 88% Eat more fruits and vegetables

Youth – 3rd-12th knowledge and behavior change

After completing a series of nutrition education classes:

• 34% Ate more veggies
• 33% Drank less sodas
• 28% Improved hand washing
• 34% Increased PA participation
• 34% Reduced screen time

Top 5 setting where youth were reached

• Schools (K-12, Elementary, Middle, and High) - 75%
• Early care and education facilities - 9%
• Community and recreation centers - 2%
• Faith-based centers/places of worship - 2%
• Individual homes or public housing sites - 2%

Youth Success Stories

At the summer youth gardening program in Mason County, the focus was on growing and tasting food that was available in the garden and donating harvested food to Lakeshore Food Club. Students explored food using their senses-how does it smell, feel, look, and taste. The youth were amazed at how different food tasted from the garden and the variety of colors that tomatoes, potatoes, greens, and carrots come in. One student exclaimed, “Food is so fun!”

During a Re-think Your Drink session, juniors and seniors at the Calhoun Area Career Center in Battle Creek discussed added sugar and caffeine. A few students asked about energy drinks and shared a story of one of their classmates being rushed to the hospital via ambulance from a heart condition activated by drinking energy drinks at school. A student had one of the drinks with them, so they practiced reading the nutrition facts label together and saw the health warnings on the label. They also did the math on how much they were spending each year on these drinks, almost $800 a year. A few weeks later, it was learned that one of the school administrators had sat in on the presentation and was shocked to hear about how much sugar and caffeine were in the drinks and all the warning labels. The next day after the class, the administration called up the vendor and canceled all the future orders for the energy drinks.

An MSU Extension Community Nutrition Instructor incorporated gardening into a 6th grade Dig In! series.  After planting seeds together, a student came up to the instructor and said, “I have always wanted to plant seeds and grow something before, but no one has ever let me. Thank you!”

During a SNAP-Ed class with a group of 4th graders at Stephenson Elementary, the nutrition instructor heard the students explaining that they now eat fruits and vegetables at lunch. Prior to the Show Me Nutrition series, the students shared they did not do this. The teacher joined in by sharing, “many of them now grab a salad from the salad bar with their lunch too”.