Rockdale UGA Extension Office wins national award for nutrition program

A Rockdale County UGA Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Agent MaryBeth Hornbeck was honored at the National Extension Association for Family and Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) 85th annual session.

Hornbeck received the First Place National NEAFCS Family Health and Wellness Award at the conference held September 30 – October 3, 2019 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The theme was “Nurturing the Richness of Lifelong Learning”.

In receiving the award, Hornbeck was recognized for the #RockdaleEatsARainbow Fun with Fresh Food program. She developed the Fun with Fresh Food Rainbow Nutrition program for families to improve attitudes and behaviors around fruit and vegetable consumption through a series of short, interactive food demos.

Each week within the program, adults would get new ideas for serving produce, kids would get excited about ways they can help in the kitchen, and everyone participated in taste tests. Families would go home with recipes and produce thanks to generous donations from Snapping Shoals EMC and the Rockdale-DeKalb Farm Bureau.

The NEAFCS Family Health and Wellness Award, which was established in 2012, recognizes innovative programs that promote and improve the health and wellness of families in areas such as nutrition, fitness, family meals, meal planning, time or stress management, healthy lifestyle and more. The award is sponsored by the NEAFCS membership and awards fund.