Fulton Fresh: Addressing Food Insecurity, Nutrition, and STEM Education during a Pandemic

Summary

UGA Extension Fulton County’s Fulton Fresh program is a multigenerational nutrition education program, which integrates youth, agriculture, and family and consumer science programming in an urban community. The purpose of Fulton Fresh is to increase awareness and consumption of in-season, local produce through hands-on educational programming and the Fulton Fresh Mobile Market. Prior to 2020, the Fulton Fresh Mobile Market focused exclusively on adult participants and did not provide educational programming for youth. To meet the additional needs of Fulton County youth, Fulton County 4-H launched the Fulton Fresh Kids’ Market in the summer of 2020 to provide healthy living and STEM educational programs coupled with access to fresh fruit to youth in K-12th grade.

Situation

Access to healthy, fresh food is an ongoing challenge for some Fulton County residents, and this problem has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2015, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) identified 34 food deserts within Fulton County, Georgia. A food desert is defined as a low-income community that is at least one mile from a grocery store. Living in food deserts may lead to a higher consumption of foods higher in fat, sugar, and salt. This unhealthy eating is a leading cause of obesity and other chronic diseases in the United States. In 2013, 33.4% of Fulton County youth ages 3-17 were overweight or obese. Studies have shown overweight and obese children in Georgia are developing Type 2 diabetes, high blood lipids, hypertension, asthma, sleep apnea, early maturation, orthopedic problems, and behavior and psychological disorders. In addition to challenges associated with access to healthy foods, food insecurity has increased within the past year due to job losses, reduced wages, and for some youth – the inability to receive meals at school or summer meal programs. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, the Atlanta Community Food Bank has seen a 300% increase in individuals and families seeking food assistance (Atlanta Community Food Bank, 2020). Additionally, 4 out of 10 individuals being served by food banks and pantries are new to charitable food assistance (Georgia Food Bank Association, 2020).

Response

Increasing fruits and vegetables in one’s diet may decrease youth and adults' risk for obesity and some chronic diseases. Georgia State Report states schools and communities are uniquely situated to tackle the obesity epidemic with lasting effects. Fulton Fresh is playing a pivotal role in using local fruits and vegetables to combat childhood obesity and food insecurity in Fulton County by providing hands-on learning environment to promote and encourage fresh fruit and vegetable consumption. The Fulton Fresh Kids’ Market was launched during the summer of 2020 in order to provide educational programming and access to fresh fruits for youth who were not currently being served by the Fulton Fresh Mobile Market. Although separate programs, the markets were run simultaneously so that families could receive produce for both adults and youth at the same market location. Given the public health concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fulton County Extension Family and Consumer Sciences, Agriculture and Natural Resources, 4-H Youth and Development, and the SNAP-Education program areas made necessary adjustments for the 2020 Fulton Fresh Mobile Market. The market was changed to a contactless, drive-thru, curbside pick-up model to reduce face-to-face contact. In place of face-to-face youth nutritional education and cooking demonstration programs which were originally planned, Fulton County 4-H and Family and Consumer Sciences staff members created a virtual and take-home kit-based healthy living and science program. This program consisted of five weeks of educational programming. Each week included three educational videos – one healthy recipe, one science experiment, and one farm tour – each focused around a highlighted produce item (apples, beans, strawberries, and citrus) which were shared on social media platforms. Each participating youth received a three to four pound bag of fresh produce and an activity kit. Activity kits included recipe cards, instructions for a science experiment, supplies for the science experiment, a digital Fulton County Library resource sheet, and healthy living activity sheets from USDA. The program included two five-week program sessions for the summer of 2020 (for a total of 10 weeks of STEM and healthy living programming).

Impact

The Fulton Fresh Kids’ Market distributed 9,597 pounds (approximately 4.8 tons) of fresh in-season produce to youth ranging from 18 months to 18 years old and reached approximately 1,500 households in 40 different zip codes. Along with bags of fresh produce, 2,650 STEM and healthy living activity kits were distributed for youth to complete program activities at home (the program distributed approximately 250 kits a week for a total of 10 weeks). Additionally, 14 Fulton Fresh Kids’ Market videos were created for distribution via social media. A total of 112 minutes of educational video were created with step-by-step instructions and demonstrations of weekly recipes and STEM activities, along with virtual field trips to local Georgia farms. A program evaluation was distributed to program participants via text message using Qualtrics software. A total of 692 participants completed the evaluation questionnaire. Evaluation results suggest that participation in the Fulton Fresh Kids’ Market led to increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and increased interest in science and healthy living topics among youth. Of those participants who completed the program evaluation, 64% reported that their child’s weekly and daily fruit consumption increased and 54% reported that their child’s weekly and daily vegetable consumption increased. Before participating in the market, 33% of respondents reported that their child ate one or more servings of fruit per day and 32% reported that their child ate one or more servings of vegetables per day. After participating in the market, 52% of respondents reported that their child ate one or more servings of fruit per day and 47% reported that their child ate one or more servings of vegetables per day. Additionally, 86% percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their child was more willing to try new foods or recipes after participating in the Fulton Fresh Kids’ Market. Interest in science and healthy living topics was also shown to increase after participating in the program. Respondents agreed or strongly agreed that as a result of participating in the Fulton Fresh Mobile Market, their child’s interest in the following topics increased: nutrition (73%), cooking (77%), agriculture (54%), and general science (67%). Additionally, 76% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their child had learned a new science topic or skill, 75% agreed or strongly agreed that their child wanted to learn more about science, and 72% agreed or strongly agreed that their child was more comfortable learning about science topics after participating in the Kids’ Market. Prior to the Fulton Fresh Kids’ Market, 67% of program participants were unfamiliar with or had not heard of Fulton County 4-H. After participating in the program, 82% of respondents indicated that they would participate in UGA Extension Fulton County and Fulton County 4-H programs in the future. Participant’s comments underscored the impact that the Kids’ Market had on families and children: • I am just so grateful for the fresh produce. Since the pandemic, several organizations donate food; however, it is usually junk food or high-sugar foods. I cannot thank enough for the fresh foods. • My family loved the fruits and vegetables. This workshop definitely helped change their eating habits. • The Fulton Fresh Program has really made a difference in our daily lives. • It gave us something to look forward to each week! We always made the recipe as a family and the science kit DNA was so much fun and insightful. • The program was great for my 13 year old. As a result of the activities, she started growing herbs and vegetables. Some items were sprouted from seeds. She really enjoyed learning from the digital library resources. • Thank you for giving my son different types of fruit for him to sample. • My child had never eaten a kiwi before. He is now eating it in a fruit salad. • I was so proud to see my daughter eat new fruits from this bag! • The activity Kit's was a great treat for my kids - not only did they enjoy the fruits but the activity kept them busy because they were missing school. • My child has fun participating in the 4-H activities. It has given her something to look forward to considering the circumstances. • I really appreciate all of the FRESH fruit and vegetables. Many organizations try to address food insecurity; however Fulton fresh is unique in that they provided fresh foods, not premade or packaged or canned foods. • Fruit is so expensive in the grocery store. So, I seldom buy it but with this program my kids were able to eat fruit twice a day for 2 weeks. • The program had an impact on my children eating fruits instead of candy and other snacks. • My kids are now more involved in meal planning. • I think the kids bags made him more receptive to try something new since it was just for him. Watching a couple if the videos seem to make more impact on the dangers of the sugary drinks. • This program was great. Originally signed up because of the projects had no idea it would be so informational for the entire family. GREAT PROGRAM!!!! Looking forward to more.

State Issue

Youth & Family Development

Details

• Year: 2020
• Geographic Scope: County
• County: Fulton
• Location: College Station, Athens
• Program Areas:
  • 4-H Youth
  • Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • Family and Consumer Sciences