Family Nutrition Program
FNP
The Family Nutrition Program (FNP) provides nutrition assistance to people with low income and helps them make healthier choices concerning basic nutrition, food safety and food budgeting. FNP is funded with Food Stamp Administrative funds by the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Moultrie-Douglas program teaches and promotes healthier lifestyles to families with young children, school-aged youth, retired adults, single parents and people moving from welfare to work. FNP also partners with community agencies such as W.I.C., Headstart, county health departments, libraries, community and senior service centers, Family Community Resource Centers, and food pantries to bring this information to clients.
Monthly programs are presented at many locations in both counties and a nutrition newsletter is published and distributed throughout the counties.
Highlights of the program during 2005-2006 include the following:
- 245 families received the monthly newsletters and commodity cookbooks at Family Community Resources Center (FCRC) locations in Tuscola and Sullivan.
- 454 senior citizens participated in monthly nutrition lessons at local senior centers and peace meal sites.
- 329 preschool children ate fresh fruits and vegetables during presentations at their schools.
- Over 500 food pantry patrons used recipes that were provided with the commodity foods they received at those pantries.
- 292 farm families participated in food safety lessons during the fall harvest.
- 127 young mothers learned pre-natal and infant nutrition lessons through the county W.I.C. presentations.
- 164 middle school students learned about sports nutrition and healthy snack choices in presentations at their schools.
- 92 pressure canners were tested during the summer and updated canning information was provided to those clients.
The Family Nutrition Program also distributed:
- Over 10,000 monthly nutritional newsletters
- Over 5,000 monthly nutritional newsletters in Spanish
- Over 20,000 monthly nutritional fact sheets
- Over 10,000 monthly nutritional fact sheets in Spanish
- Over 30 nutritional news releases published in local newspapers
