Hart County • 2019

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For More Information, Please Contact us at:

Hart County Extension Office • (270) 524-2451 • https://hart.ca.uky.edu

505 A.A. Whitman Lane, P.O. Box 367, Munfordville, KY 42765-0367

Establishing a Walking Trail in Our Community

The Hart County Extension Office along with 4-H volunteers , 4-H teen leaders and the 4-H and FCS

Agent received a $5000 youth/adult partnership grant to provide a wellness opportunity in Hart

County. This committee met and decided to establish a Walking Trail to encourage physical activity

and wellness in the community. The committee partnered with the Hart County School System to

establish a walking trail at Memorial Elementary School. The Hart County Extension Office, 4-H

volunteers and 4-H teens planned and designed the trail. 4-H volunteers contacted local businesses

and individuals to donate equipment and labor for the project. In just a few days, the volunteers and

teens prepared the trail, put down filter fabric and shoveled gravel.

The trail is now used by local citizens, students and school employees and provides a wonderful way

to increase their daily physical activity.

Pictured l-r is Mackensie Walters, Jenna Logsdon and Luke Carter. These

4-H students helped establish a Walking Trail at Memorial Elementary.

Making Positive Choices

The Hart County 4-H Program partnered with

the Hart County Family Resource Centers to

offer a Positive Choices Program to all 6th, 7th

and 8th grade students in Hart County.

Students had the opportunity to hear

presentations on the Dangers of Alcohol,

Juuling & Vaping, Tobacco, Social Media,

Healthy Relationships, Healthy Living and

Bullying. Volunteers included Hart County

Sheriff’s Office, Kentucky State Police, KY

Agency for Substance Abuse Policy (KY-

ASAP), Lifeskills, and Barren River Health

Department. The 4-H Youth Development

Agent taught the importance of eating well

and exercising to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Evaluations demonstrated that students

gained knowledge on a variety of topics and

learned the importance of making positive

choices in the future.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

(ANR)

Ag Economy Diversification

Diversification of Hart County Agriculture has

been identified as a major area for program

efforts. Extension has worked for many years

to help producers identify and take advantage

of opportunities in diversified agricultural

enterprises. We have assisted growers in

developing markets for vegetable crops and

have done extensive work in vegetable

production.

During the 2019 season Extension played a

major role in establishing a Farmers Market

in Horse Cave and moving the Munfordville

market to a more visible location. As a result

of the market location changes the number of

vendors selling at the markets increased.

Cash sales increased and redemption rates for

WIC and senior vouchers also went up.

The Hart County Produce Auction is

continuing to grow in number of producers

and number of buyers. To assist growers in

production practices, Hart County Extension

Service held a vegetable production meeting

in February and presented programs on

vegetable production practices and disease

and insect control.

Twenty one producers were in attendance and

each participant received a copy of the power

point presentation along with Vegetable

Production Guide ID-36. Producer

evaluations were positive and said the

production material was valuable for their

operation.

Dr. Nicole Gauthier, UK professor,

presenting her seminar on mums

4-H Agent Amber Huffman speaks to

students about eating healthy foods

Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS)

Remaining Healthy As You Age

The Hart County Healthy Living exercise

program began meeting in 2008 and is still

very active in 2019. The instructor and

participants have become very close and serve

or have served as a support group in the loss

of spouses and through difficult times. As

they exercise, laugh, share stories, and give

each other the socialization that they so long

for throughout the week, they improve both

their physical and mental health. Members

come from all social economic backgrounds

and they are diverse in gender and race. This

group is also very diverse in that it does not

limit itself to those who are mobile.

Participates in the Healthy Living class

expand their social networks to involve

themselves in walking challenges, weight loss

programs, cooking and food preservation

classes offered through Hart County

Extension. The average attendance is 15, but

can have up to 20 or more.

Super Star Chef

In the 2013 USDA’s Food Atlas, Hart County’s

free lunch eligibility was 5% above the

Kentucky participate rate and nearly 10%

above the national participate rate.

While living in a rural community has its

advantages, it also presents struggles for the

7% of the population who live more than a

mile away from a grocery store and do not

own a car. Although the Backpack Program is

offered to students throughout the year, a

program is currently unavailable during the

summer months. To help address the food

insecurity that exists, a 3 day workshop was

taught by Hart County’s FCS agent and NEP

assistant at the Extension Office.

Of the 18 participants from grades 3rd

through 7th, 94% agreed/strongly agreed that

they learned the correct way to hold a knife for

cutting. They also learned about the correct

amount of fruits and vegetables they should

have on their plate.

Evaluations also showed that about 83%

learned about correct handwashing and they

also plan to eat more fruits and vegetables

after participating in the program.

Supplemental Nutrition Education

Program (SNAP-ED)

Raiders for Better Health

The Hart County Cooperative Extension SNAP

Education program assistant partnered with

the Hart County High School Family and

Consumer Sciences department to offer a

Teen Cuisine series.

According to the Center for Disease Control

and Prevention 20.2% of Kentucky 9th-12th

grade adolescents are obese. To help combat

this issue, the Teen Cuisine program was

conducted during Hart County High School's

Raider Hour over a period of 8 classes.

Teen Cuisine teaches self-sufficiency in the

kitchen while also promoting healthy habits.

At the end of the eight class series, the 20 teen

cuisine graduates showed an 88%

improvement in diet quality, as well as

improvements in physical activity and food

safety.

Members from the Healthy Living exercise

group are all smiles as they stay in shape

326 Number of youth who indicated they know how to use information they are given to make decisions

123 Number of youth who apply the skills learned in 4-H and in other activities at home, school or in the community

42 Number or people reporting improved lifestyles through a focus on proper nutrition, disease and injury reduction and comprehensive health maintenance

540 Number of hours KEHA members volunteered with Extension youth development work

7,044 Dollars in EBT, WIC or Senior benefits redeemed at farmers markets

139 Number of youth who understands the role of agriculture in the production of food and fiber

236 Number of teens and volunteers who participated in out of door day camps

88 Number of individuals reached by volunteer-led programs/activities who demonstrated one or more newly acquired skill

326 Number of youth who are more aware of preparing and eating healthy, local food

80 Number of Extension programs/activities conducted by Extension Homemaker members

55 Number of individuals who indicated that they purchased the fruits and vegetables featured on the Plate It Up! recipe card

Extension At a Glance

Youth Entrepreneurship

The Hart County 4-H Program collaborated with

the Chamber of Commerce to offer the

Entrepreneur Challenge (E-Challenge) Program for

7th—12th grade students. For eight weeks, students

met after school to learn about starting their own

business and the concept of entrepreneurship. Each

session introduced a new topic on business

including marketing, product development, writing

a business plan and product pricing vs. cost. Guest

speakers from local successful businesses were

brought in to talk to the students about their

experiences of starting a business. Through this

process, students developed a business idea of their

own and formally presented it before a “Shark

Tank” like panel of community leaders who

determined which projects received funding.

At the end of the program, five students were award

$500 in cash donated by Limestone Bank to

continue or enhance the development of their

business. The participants stated they gained

knowledge in the area of entrepreneurship, starting

their own business and improved their

communications skills.

A school administrator stated, “This program has

provided an amazing opportunity for students to be

creative and innovative. Not only were the students

immersed in business practices and able to gain

expertise from business leaders in the community,

but they also learned about presentations and

public speaking.”

Limestone Bank representative Kenneth Kidd

with the 5 E-Challenge Program winners