Whether you are a low-income older adult seeking ways to improve your health and lifestyle or a health educator interested in making a change in someone’s life, Eat Smart, Live Strong is the program for you!
Eat Smart, Live Strong is a nutrition curriculum workshop series developed by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service to improve fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity among low-income, older adults (ages 60-74 years old) participating in or eligible for FNS nutrition assistance programs.
Designed and tested by professionals, the Eat Smart, Live Strong Activity Kit contains activities and resources to help promote two key health behaviors. The two health behaviors this program promotes are to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables to at least 3 ½ cups everyday (1 ½ cups of fruits and 2 cups of vegetables) and to participate in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity most days. The Activity Kit includes a Leader’s Guide, four ready-to-use, skill-building sessions, and participant resources (such as marketing flyers, handouts, and participant feedback forms.)
The Eat Smart, Live Strong curriculum is made up of four ready-to-use, skill-building lessons; Reach Your Goals, Step by Step, Challenges and Solutions, Colorful and Classic Favorites, and Eat Smart, Spend Less. Each lesson is designed to help educators inform older adults on the specific ways in which they can achieve the two key health behaviors previously stated. The lessons can be used as is or tailored to accommodate your audience’s needs.
Each workshop provides educators with an easy-to-follow, guided lesson plan. These lesson plans include an overview of the nutritional and physical needs of older adults, tips to help educators implement and promote these needs, learning objectives, handouts, hands on learning activities, exercises, and time to set and assess goals. Each lesson plan includes graphics and step-by-step directions, making each lesson straight-forward and easy to follow for both educators and students.
Teaching older adults can be somewhat of a challenge. They may think that they know what is best for them or that their age prevents them from achieving certain goals. However, Eat Smart, Live Strong, is a great program to put their negativity to rest. Its easy-to-follow, well thought out lesson plans both educate and inspire older adults to reach new health and diet goals. This program allows older adults to enjoy fun and lively activities with other older adults. It is a fun and easy way for these individuals to educate themselves on how to make healthier choices and exercise more. Additionally, all the materials are made available to those interested in the program online. So, if an individual does not have the time to meet with a group or has no means of transportation they can just as easily teach themselves the required lessons.
If you or someone you know is interested in joining the Eat Smart, Live Strong program, check out their website at http://snap.nal.usda.gov/resource-library/eat-smart-live-strong-nutrition-education-older-adults/eat-smart-live-strong. Here, you can find all the materials you need to educate yourself on the program.
