Welcome
I am pleased to share with you our program impacts and highlights from 2021! We navigated through COVID-19 with many of our community partners having to postpone in-person programming due to the pandemic. We saw this as an opportunity, and our nutrition educators quickly adapted to also delivering quality virtual education, working with partners to provide live online classes for participants at home.
As more families found themselves struggling to put food on the table, our food systems and public health specialists continued collaborating with community organizations, finding innovative ways to increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables. I’m proud of the work we do and very thankful for our partnerships with more than 1,100 local organizations in our 40 counties. We welcome new partners who want to support SNAP-Education in Florida.
Karla P. Shelnutt, PhD, RD, Principal Investigator, UF/IFAS Extension Family Nutrition Program, Associate Professor and Extension Nutrition Specialist, Nutrition Program Leader
Florida's Need
7 million
Floridians qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed)
2.6 million
Floridians experience food insecurity
1 in 5 youth and 1 in 4 adults
has obesity, which can lead to chronic disease
What is SNAP-Ed?
- SNAP-Ed is a federally funded program that teaches people who use or are eligible for SNAP benefits about good nutrition, physical activity, and how to stretch their food dollars further.
- The UF/IFAS Extension Family Nutrition Program (FNP) has provided SNAP-Ed in Florida since 1996 through partnerships with local organizations.
- Funding comes from the USDA through the Florida Department of Children and Families.
- Programming is based on the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, and the USDA Food Guidance System (MyPlate).
Our Mission and Values
We help limited-resource families in Florida access more nutritious food choices on a budget and adopt healthier eating and physical activity habits to reduce the risk of obesity and chronic disease.
What We Do
We teach nutrition education classes at locations where people normally gather, such as schools, community centers, libraries, and churches, as well as online.
We support policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes in communities to help increase food access and make the healthy choice the easy choice.
271,055
people reached
1,119
partner locations
Programming in 40 counties:
Who We Are
FNP's team of more than 160 people serve 40 Florida counties through UF/IFAS Extension with passion and dedication. The program is headquartered at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Many of our nutrition educators and their supervisors come from the communities in which they serve.
In addition to English, classes are offered in Spanish and Haitian-Creole in some counties, to serve Florida's diverse population.
Our public health and food systems specialists connect our partners to the resources they need.
Nutrition Education
What Our Participants Learn in Class
FNP offers free evidence-based nutrition education classes for all age groups, with online and in-person programming options. Topics include:
- Meal planning on a budget
- Healthy food choices
- Increasing physical activity
- Gardening
- Food safety
62,000
people reached through nutrition education
47,785
youth
14,215
adults
10,648
classes
48%
classes taught online
Celebrating Success!
Moving More at Summer Camp
Fifty-six children ages 5-13 attended the Summer Food, Summer Moves class from FNP during a day camp in Pasco County. The camp supervisor said the children loved cheering on their friends when choosing different fruits and vegetables and exercises to try.
Now, we have incorporated more physical activity into their day to keep them focused and to have fun!”
— Darrell Davis Sr., camp supervisor in Pasco County
Positive Behavior Change
We surveyed program participants immediately before and after they attended our classes. The following shows the percentages of those surveyed who indicated improvement on key behaviors.
Fruit or vegetable consumption improvement:
51% of adults
33% of youth (grades 6-12)
67% of youth (grades 3-5)
Healthy beverage consumption improvement:
68% of adults
51% of youth (grades 6-12)
53% of youth (grades 3-5)
Physical activity improvement:
41% of adults
28% of youth (grades 6-12)
52% of youth (grades 3-5)
Food safety improvement:
35% of youth (grades 3-5)
Supporting Healthy Changes in Our Communities
When healthy changes in a community occur alongside nutrition education, the community benefits.
Our public health and food systems specialists provide support to local partners for policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes that strengthen the impact of nutrition education.
Depending on the partner’s needs, support can include free training, consultations, technical assistance, networking, and coalition building, to promote healthy behaviors and reduce food insecurity. Training areas include:
- school and community gardens
- early childhood education centers
- Smarter Lunchrooms Movement in schools
- healthy food pantries
209,055
people reached
2,199
community partners trained
376
policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes created
Partnering to Increase Access to Fresh Foods in Florida
Food recovery in Florida has increased since May 2021 through an ongoing partnership between FNP, MEANS (Matching Excess and Need for Stability) Database, and Florida Impact to End Hunger. More than 44,000 pounds of food was recovered from May through September 2021. Almost all of it was fresh, surplus produce that would have been thrown away. Most of the food was distributed in Collier and Lee Counties through MEANS by St. Matthew’s House, a faith-based social services nonprofit. The Benison Center was among the recipients, accepting more than 1,600 pounds of recovered fresh produce to feed 350 people at a food distribution event in September 2021.
This partnership began after Jeannie Necessary, PSE coordinator for FNP, recognized the need to connect FNP with an online food distribution platform in Florida and contacted MEANS Database. MEANS connects organizations that can regularly donate excess food with nearby emergency food providers who serve those in need.
44,000+
pounds of food recovered
Working with the FNP team has been a blessing and I am constantly in awe of what we are accomplishing. Thanks to you we have constructed MEANS’ most successful outreach program to date.”
— Allie Wilson, MEANS Database program manager
Encouraging Healthier Choices in Food Pantries
Since we implemented the tools brought to us through the nudge program our food pantry has even more of an outdoor market feel and less like a food handout program. The cards with the pictures of different fruit and vegetables and the QR codes add a sense of dignity and purpose to what we were already doing. The recipes give people ideas of healthy meals they can make."
— Tania, a pantry volunteer in Orange County
88,019
people reached with pantry nudges
Growing and Learning Through Gardening
FNP provides resources and technical assistance for gardens at eligible partner sites, helping to increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables and gardening knowledge in the community. If garden space is limited, FNP can work with the partner to provide grow kits for participants to learn how to grow food at home in containers.
Our clients love every opportunity they have when FNP comes and provides nutritional information through the Cooking Matters series. They were extremely excited to receive the grow kits provided by FNP and put in practice everything they had learned!”
— Andrea Trovar, LivWell Program Wellness Coordinator in Broward County
222
school, childcare center, and community gardens supported
25,218
youth and adults engaged
The Florida Crunch: Learning to Be a Good Taster
The Florida Crunch is a campaign designed to celebrate National Farm to School Month each October, while connecting school food service programs with local growers. Florida Crunch events provide students an opportunity to try a fruit or vegetable they might not have tried before and education on where their food comes from.
18
events in
9
counties
42,575
students and staff reached
18
Florida farmers partnered with FNP for Florida Crunch or other events
Virtual School Garden Leadership Training
Florida Agriculture in the Classroom (FAITC) partners with FNP to host a series of virtual School Garden Leadership Trainings monthly during the school year.
The experience allows Florida school garden leaders of all levels to build gardening confidence, foster collaboration, and strengthen garden programs for long-term success.
563
people attended
236
people continue to connect on a dedicated Facebook group
Promoting Healthy Eating and Physical Activity at ECE Centers
FNP provided free Healthy Kids Healthy Future training and continuing education units (CEUs) for eligible childcare providers. The training, provided in English and Spanish, promotes healthy eating and physical activity at early childhood education centers (ECEs) and supports recognition through the Florida’s HEROs program. Go NAPSACC is a tool that helps ECEs move through the steps of the training. Florida's HEROs five best practices are:
- Provide Healthy Food
- Offer Healthy Beverages
- Support Breastfeeding
- Increase Physical Activity
- Limit Screen Time
62
providers trained
29
centers
2,011
children reached
Training Food Service Staff on Smarter Lunchrooms
As certified technical assistance providers, FNP specialists trained school food service staff on the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement. This is a collection of 60 cost-effective techniques developed at Cornell University to encourage K-12th grade students to select and consume more nutritious foods in the school cafeteria.
43,100
students reached
Staying Connected Online
We use FNP social media channels to provide current evidence-based information, reinforcing the nutrition education concepts taught in our classes for a healthier lifestyle. Our website is an additional resource for healthy recipes and information, and a way for potential partners to connect with FNP staff in their local area.
64,777
website page views
41,727
people reached on Facebook and Instagram
3,200
views on YouTube
Find us online:
Thank You!
In addition to FNP staff and UF/IFAS Extension, our program is made possible through more than a thousand partnerships across the state. Community partners provide resources such as staff time, expertise, donated goods, and space in which to conduct programming. We work with the following types of partner organizations:
- Adult education and job training sites
- Agricultural organizations
- Childcare centers and Head Start programs
- City and regional planning groups
- Community centers
- Elder service centers
- Faith-based organizations
- Farmers and farmers markets
- Federal, state, and local governmental organizations
- Food banks and pantries
- Grocery stores
- Health and human services organizations
- Hospitals and clinics
- Nonprofit organizations
- Parks and recreation centers
- Public health organizations
- Public housing and shelters
- Public libraries
- Schools
- Transportation groups
- Worksites
Thank you to our funding agency, the Florida Department of Children and Families, and our fellow SNAP-Ed implementing agency, the Florida Department of Health.
Partner with us to create a healthier Florida!
¡Asóciese con nosotros para una Florida más saludable!
An nou travay ansanm pou nou gen yon Florid pi an sante!
Contact
Karla P. Shelnutt, PhD, RD, kpagan@ufl.edu
This material was funded by the USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP. This institution is an equal opportunity provider. SNAP funding is provided through the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Photos by: FNP staff, Hardee Junior High School, UF/IFAS Photography, SNAP-Ed Connection, and istockphoto.com
An Equal Opportunity Institution