Keeping people healthy
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EmailWhen you support MSU Extension, you encourage parents to feed their children healthy meals, teach youth about the importance of eating well, and help citizens learn about disease prevention and management.
SNAP Education
MSU Extension’s SNAP Education (SNAP-Ed) programs including Cooking Matters, Eat Healthy. Be Active, Jump Into Foods and Fitness, Healthy Harvest and Show Me Nutrition teach Bridge Card eligible adults and children
- how to make the most of their food dollars
- developing skills such as menu planning
- understanding recipes
- food preparation and keeping food safe.
Between January 2016 and December 2016, MSU Extension SNAP-Ed programs were presented to 208 adults and youth in Ogemaw County!
- 23 adults and 156 youth participated in a six-week series of nutrition lessons.
- 29 adults participated in a one-time lesson on healthy lifestyle choices.
- 632 contacts were made with adults and youth in 2016.
Teaching valuable healthy-eating skills
MSU Extension is serving 624 children and families weekly in Northeast Michigan weekly through a partnership with Food Bank of Eastern Michigan. As part of the backpack programs of food distributed for the weekends, children and families receive recipes, resources and information to make a healthier choice an easier choice.
- Roscommon County- 2 schools- 120 children
- Ogemaw County- 1 school- 48 children
- Oscoda County- 2 schools- 120 children
- Iosco County- 2 schools- 96 children
- Crawford County- 1 school- 48 children
- Alcona County- 2 schools- 192 children
Disease Prevention and Management
When you support MSU Extension, you help participants learn strategies to improve the quality of their diets, manage chronic health conditions and reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes. It is estimated that the state can save $545 million spent across all chronic diseases by investing $10 in preventive care per person per year. Your support of MSU Extension benefits participants and the community by moderating the increase in healthcare costs associated with caring for a growing population of people with diabetes and other chronic health conditions.
Access to high-quality and affordable disease prevention and management education programs such as those that MSU Extension provides is essential to saving lives, reducing disabilities and lowering the costs of everyone’s medical care.
Since 2013, MSU Extension disease prevention and management programming has reached almost 8,500 Michigan residents. In 2016/2017 our residents participated in:
Dining with Diabetes
Participants learn how to prepare healthy meals, the importance of diet and exercise and tools to manage their diabetes. As a result of the program:
- 90 percent can correctly report which nutrients provide glucose for the body.
- 92 percent know which foods contain carbohydrates.
- 73 percent are confident they can eat meals every 4 to 5 hours every day, including breakfast.
- 76 percent are confident they can follow their diet when having to prepare or share food with other people who do not have diabetes.
Personal Action Towards Health (PATH)
Participants are equipped to face the daily challenges of living with one or more chronic conditions. As a result of the program:
- 33 percent of participants reported an improved health status at the end of the program.
- 53 percent of participants ended the program with decreased symptoms of fatigue.
- 49 percent of participants reported decreased pain symptoms.
- 51 percent decreased their fearfulness about their future health by using strategies taught in PATH.
Helping Ogemaw County prevent diabetes
MSU Extension is working collectively with many organizations locally, statewide and nationally to fight the overwhelming epidemic of diabetes in Michigan by helping people prevent this chronic illness.
- Spoke monthly at West Branch Medical Center.
- 12 participants from Ogemaw County.
- Discussed programs MSU has to offer.
- Presented a Diabetes Educations to West Branch diabetes education group.
