A state agency and a state university have teamed up to help Kansans with low incomes learn new skills to stretch their food budget and improve family nutrition.

The Family Nutrition Program will target food stamp recipients or persons eligible for food stamps because of poverty -- especially single parent families, low-income minority households, and vulnerable older adults. The program involves the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS), which administers the state's Food Stamp Program, and Kansas State University's Extension Services program.

The Family Nutrition Program (FNP) recently received a start-up grant of $331,725 from the United States Department of Agriculture's Food and Consumer Service Agency. The federal grant was matched with

labor and equipment to be provided to the project by the state agencies and their employees. These include extension specialists in the 11 counties where households will be targeted during the first year of FNP.

The program will deliver nutrition education in group and individual settings. Visual and print materials along with nutrition demonstrations will be used to educate consumers in new skills that will lead to improved nutrition and economic efficiencies.

The counties involved during the first year of the program are Atchison, Bourbon, Brown, Cherokee, Dickinson, Douglas, Franklin, Riley, Saline, Shawnee and Wyandotte.

The aim is to help people with limited resources make them go further," said Dr. Meredith Pearson, extension specialist at Kansas State University. Pearson and Dr. Mary McPhail Gray, assistant director, Extension Home Economics and Associate Dean of the College of Human Ecology at Kansas State are FNP project directors.

The goals of the program include the following:

*Food Stamp recipients or Food Stamp eligible households will learn skills to help improve their nutritional status and economic efficiency.

*Pregnant and parenting teenagers who are receiving Food Stamps or who are Food Stamp-eligible will increase their knowledge of nutrition, healthy lifestyles and resource management.

*Children aged 3 through 12 from limited-income families will increase their nutritional knowledge.

Cutting health care costs is also an expected result of FNP.

Eating patterns are established in childhood," Pearson said. Poor nutrition choices can lead to heart disease, diet-related cancer, and diabetes."

In addition, a goal of the program is to improve the nutrition of pregnant women, which in turn would improve the health of new born babies and cut health care costs involving low birth-weight new-borns.

Low birth-weight babies often have health problems," said Connie Hubbell, Commissioner of Income Support and Employment Preparation Services for SRS. The Family Nutrition Program will help expectant mothers improve their diet and lifestyle, leading to healthier births and lower health care costs."

Besides SRS and the Extension Service, a variety of community agencies ranging from homeless shelters to public school districts have committed to supporting the Family Nutrition Program.

Health statistics in Kansas indicate an overall concern for diet with high levels of cholesterol, fat and sugar. In families, specific nutrition problems may include the following:

*Limited dietary selection and food budgeting skills;

*Limited knowledge of public support programs such as the Food Stamps program, commodity foods, and food pantries;

*Unsafe and limited food preparation skills;

*Inappropriate food storage and cooking practices;

*Unplanned, unbalanced meals with poor nutrient quality; and

*Limited inclusion of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products.

Page Last Updated: May 29, 2001