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About Us
County Impact Statements - Washington County
"Health is a Matter of Prevention" for Washington County Families
Donita Clark, Program Assistant in Washington County, is a believer in
empowering children and adults to take charge of their health.. "In our
families, in our communities, and in our nation–we must move from a corrective
to a preventative approach if we want to make a difference in chronic
illnesses."
The Family Nutrition Education Program (FNEP) provides basic nutrition and
food budgeting education to limited resource families. This program focuses on
the essential levels of the Food Guide Pyramid and teaches nutrition principles
in an easy to understand and interactive setting.
The Family Nutrition Education Program (FNEP) recognizes that chronic
diseases result in costly health-care expense, lost productivity, and premature
death of Arkansans. Chronic diseases which are diet-related include heart
disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and the new epidemic–obesity. By using the
"Eat Well For Less" curriculum, participants explore each level of the Food
Guide Pyramid, learning about serving sizes, daily requirements, and important
vitamins and minerals found in each group. Lessons such as "Creating a Menu" and
"Stretching Your Food Dollar" put the finishing touches on this 12-lesson
series. Mastering good dietary and budgeting skills at an early age will help
make a difference now and in the future as the children of today become the
parents of tomorrow.
For more information about the
Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas programs visit our web
site.
Washington County youth learn how healthy snacking can be part
of a lifelong commitment to making good health decisions.
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Impacts
- Washington County’s FNEP program enrolled 199 families with 630 total
family members, during its first year of existence.
- 97% of those enrolled graduated from the FNEP program by completing the
12-lesson curriculum. These families reported improvement in reading
nutrition labels and choosing healthier foods.
- A special Farm Friends celebration provided a day-long educational
adventure in agriculture and its impact on our food. FNEP was there to share
nutrition basics and demonstrate proper hand-washing techniques to over 700
Washington County children.
- Over 60,000 county residents were reached in an effort to entice more
Arkansans to make health a matter of prevention!
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