2018 National EFNEP Coordinators' Conference

The Oregon State University Extension Service developed the Food Hero (FH) social marketing campaign in 2009 to increase fruit & vegetable (F&V) consumption of low-income Oregonians. In schools where ≥ 50% children qualify for free and reduced meals, the FH recipe project, which formulates and shares recipes to help families and foodservice sites access and prepare healthy recipes, is evaluated using the Kids Tasting Assessment. The tool has 3 objectives: 1) Identify FH recipes most liked by children; 2) Encourage children to taste-test and promote FH among parents, peers, and stakeholders & 3) Have FH educators and community partners share the results to promote recipe use. In FY 2017, 971 youth participated in EFNEP nutrition classes and 6,881 assessments were completed within the eight EFNEP counties in Oregon. Particularly, in Jackson county, FH has had such impact that a fifth grader persuaded the principal and foodservice director at Kennedy Elementary School to include a FH recipe on the lunch menu and it is now being served throughout Medford district. The FH campaign continues to transform communities all across the state, and every time a FH recipe is consumed an Oregonian is a step closer to meeting their daily F&V intake.