Food & Nutrition
Our target objectives designed to improve health, food insecurity, and hunger among the SNAP population include:
- increase consumption of nutrient dense fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and low-fat dairy products
- decrease consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages
- reduce consumption of low nutrient, high energy dense foods containing large amounts of added sugars, salt and saturated fats
- increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior
- improve food resource management skills
- improve food preparation skills
- increase access to affordable and nutritious foods
Contact
Justine Patterson
Project Director
jec445@cornell.edu
607 664-2572
Last updated January 17, 2024
Useful Links
Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Health Can Be Improved at Any Age with a Healthy Diet
SNAP-Ed New York can help you “Make Every Bite Count” with the New Dietary Guidelines for Americans
The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans have been released, and SNAP-Ed New York – Southern Finger Lakes Region is integrating the new science and recommendations of the Guidelines into their nutrition education programming. Though the new Guidelines share some similarities to the previous ones, the 2020 Guidelines include some firsts, including specific nutrition recommendations across the lifespan, guidance on alcohol consumption, and an emphasis on adapting eating patterns to fit cultural traditions. One notable finding – when the 20 scientists on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee reviewed all of the research, they found that health can be improved at any age with a healthy diet.
Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program
What is the connection between having access to healthy food and one’s physical health? According to the NYS Prevention Agenda area of Preventing Chronic Disease, food insecurity is an indicator for both poor nutrition and poor health. In the Southern Finger Lakes region, 12.2% of residents struggle with food insecurity, making it difficult to have consistent access to healthy foods and supporting a reliance on quick, cheap, and easy foods. The need for increasing the consumption of healthy foods is clear – in the Finger Lakes Region, only one in seven adults consumes the recommended number of fruits per day, and only one in ten consumes the recommended number of vegetables. Not coincidently, the rate of overweight or obese adults is 65% across the region. The solution? Food as medicine.
In partnership with Finger Lakes Community Health and local participating vendors, the SNAP-Ed New York Fruit and Vegetable Prescription program focuses on increasing access to affordable and local produce as a solution to preventing and treating chronic diseases – especially those related to obesity – as well as food insecurity.