“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”~Maya Angelou
One of the common arguments I hear about SNAP is that people use the allotment to buy junk food and eat unhealthy. "They are wasting our money on crap," I often hear. But what if you weren't raised knowing how to cook? What if your parents weren't big vegetable eaters and your only experience with vegetables was something from a can smothered in cheese? What if your family never had a garden and you don't know the first thing about growing your own food or preserving it? We do what we know until we know better. But how do we get recipients of SNAP to know better? To make healthier choices? To try fresh vegetables that they have never tried before?
Part of the SNAP funding is spent on just that--educating the recipients to make better food choices that will increase the health of their families. There are SNAP nutrition educators throughout the state who deal with low income families to teach them about nutrition, cooking, gardening, budgeting, meal planning, etc. These educators teach the basic information people need to survive on a SNAP allotment.
You can find these educators through the University Extension system of your state. Just look under the "nutrition" or "community resources" tab and you will probably find them. In Wisconsin, they are called WNEP (Wisconsin Nutrition Education Program) educators, but it is just a different name for the same thing. If you go on the link for the nutrition education, you will find recipes, handouts and publications that help teach healthy habits. http://eauclaire.uwex.edu/nutrition-education/
WNEP educators work in tandem with other organizations to teach healthy living to as many low income families as possible. In my area, they work with the schools to teach kids how to cook and eat healthy; they work with halfway houses to teach inmates in transition how to budget and live a healthy life; they work with the local horticulture agency and the Boys and Girls Club to teach lower income kids about gardening and cooking with vegetables; and so much more.
WNEP educators in conjunction with the Eau Claire Community Foundation and the Downtown Farmers Market worked to install the token program that allows SNAP recipients to use their Quest card (foodshare card) to get tokens to be used at the Downtown Farmers Market. (see the link for the farmers market=>) This program gives SNAP recipients access to locally grown fruits and vegetables. They get the healthiest produce and the money goes to local farmers.
I consider the WNEP educators to be a critical part of the SNAP funding, but while Congress is playing around with the farm bill, their funding could be cut. How can we expect SNAP recipients to do better with their allotment if they don't know better? Education is critical to moving ahead toward a better life!
Today, I'm going to see a SNAP educator in action. I'm going to pop in on Pamela in one of the community gardens where she will be working with kids to educate them on gardening and healthy eating. More on that later...
