Welcome to Kentucky Family Policy

This blog is dedicated to examining issues facing the Commonwealth of Kentucky and providing a nonpartisan, family perspective on public policy making. We hope to provide a forum for Kentuckians to review and discuss current legislative actions and the issues such actions are attempting to address. The opinions expressed herein belong solely to the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Kentucky, its affiliates, or its representatives.

What the authors of this blog will contribute:
1) Summarize current state, national, and international research related to topics relevant to current legilative actions.
2) Describe Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service programs and activities currently addressing issues related to legilative actions in the various counties.
3) Provide expert commentaries via podcasts and videocasts on issues relevant to current legilative actions.

Please see "Priority Bills" section on the right for a short list of the most current legislative actions relevant to the family focus of this blog

Monday, March 3, 2008

Master Food Volunteer Program

The state of Kentucky ranks 2nd in the nation in percentage of overweight adults based on reported height and weight. One in every two Kentuckians is at increased risk for developing diabetes. It is imperative that our state provides knowledge to our citizens so they can develop healthier life styles. Therefore, the Jefferson County Extension Family & Consumer Sciences Agent started the Master Food Volunteer Program (MFVP). The program was developed on the premise that a group of volunteers could reach more people and complement the extension agents and nutrition assistants in teaching proper eating habits. As part of the Mayor’s Healthy Hometown Movement, we strive to promote nutrition education by teaching correct portion size, the benefits of consuming more fruits and vegetables and the importance of choosing healthy snacks to do our part in combating the problems facing our area.

Thirty-three people from diverse backgrounds and age groups have participated in the five day training. Topics discussed were standard based nutrition and how it affects diabetes and heart disease which are two of the highest rated diseases in the state of Kentucky. Additional topics covered were international foods and working with different target populations.

A pre-test and a post-test were completed for the training. Results from the tests showed that 92% of the participants said they were very likely to change their diet to a more nutritious selection as a result of this training and 8% stated they would be likely to change their diet. In addition, four participants verbally reported an increase of exercising and a total weight loss of 85 pounds.

The thirty-three Master Food volunteers have taught over 120 nutrition classes reaching over 7,200 youth and adults. The majority of the classes were taught at 47 different community agencies serving at-risk groups. The agencies include Home of the Innocents, Volunteers of America, Salvation Army and Presbyterian Community Centers.
The Metro Health Department gave the Extension Service two grants totaling $34,800 to start the MFVP.