MSU Extension SNAP-Ed

The Big Picture

6,555 adults reached through a series and 17,625 adults reached through single session presentations

MSU Extension Action

MSU Extension partners with Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to provide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed), a free nutrition education program to reduce hunger and food insecurity and promote healthy eating habits. MSU Extension SNAP-Ed nutrition instructors teach youth, teens, adults, and seniors how to make health a priority through an instructional series. The goal of SNAP-Ed is to improve the likelihood that persons eligible for SNAP will make the healthy food choices within a limited budget and choose physically active lifestyles consistent with the current Dietary Guidelines.

The Impact

Percentage of participants (n=2,991) reporting an increase in a healthy eating behavior after a series of nutrition education:

• 29% reported an increase in eating fruits or vegetables as a snack
• 32% reported an increase in eating more than one kind of fruit daily.
• 34% reported an increase in eating more than one kind of vegetable daily.
• 36% reported an increase in eating two or more vegetables at their main meal.
• 41% reported an increase in the amount of fruit they consumed each day.
• 42% reported an increase in the amount of vegetables consumed

Likelihood of participants (n=2,991) reporting an increase in a healthy food behavior after a series of nutrition education:

• 2.25 times more likely for how often adults prepare foods without added salt.
• 2.27 times more likely how often adults think about healthy food choices when deciding what to feed their family.
• 2.30 times more likely for how often adults use the “Nutrition Facts” on the food label to make food choices.
• 1.36 times more likely for how often their children ate something in the morning within two hours of waking up.

Percentage of participants (n=2,991) reporting an increase in a physical activity behavior after a series of nutrition education:

• 29% of adults reported an increase in the days per week they engaged in vigorous physical activity.
• 38% of adults reported an increase in the days per week in which they engaged in moderate physical activity.
• 42% of adults reported an increase in the days per week they spent walking in the last seven days.
• 40% of adults reported sitting less during the past seven days.
• 27% of adults reported an increase in the past seven days in workouts to build and strengthen muscles.
• 41% of adults reported an increase in the amount of fruit consumed.

Percentage of participants (n=2,991) reporting a decrease in a food safety behavior after a series of nutrition education:

• 20% of adults reported a decrease in how often they let foods sit out for more than two hours.
• 34% of adults reported a decrease in how often they reported thawing food at room temperature.

What Our Participants Are Saying

“I use 17 tsp. sugar in my iced tea and after seeing a demo of how much that was over a weeks’ time, I was amazed. I have cut down my sugar to using only 4 or 5 teaspoons of sugar in my iced tea.”

"I have never looked at food labels and now I can't buy something without doing it."