In 2012 Utah State legislature passed the Intergenerational Poverty Mitigation Act to combat the cycle of intergeneration poverty among low income families. This act requires the Department of Workforce Services establish and maintain a system tracking intergenerational poverty and to use that data to assist government entities in breaking the cycle.
Utah Food $ense (SNAP-Ed) is one of the agencies tasked with helping break this cycle of poverty. A pilot program in Weber County named Next Generation Kids recruited six families. These families attended a series of classes focused on healthy food choices, family mealtime, budgeting food monies, and basic cooking skills. The end results were excellent and participants showed increased confidence in the kitchen, improved self-efficacy, and a greater awareness of safe food handling. Utah Food $ense proved to be an effective educational source for the IGP initiative and looks forward to more opportunities to teach families the SNAP-Ed principles of eating healthy on a limited budget.
Next Generation Kids was featured in the KSL news for it’s great work. To view the story and a short video clip, click here.