The Brown County AgriLIFE Extension Office has a new addition to their group. Lisa Mapel was hired as an extension program assistant back in November and is in charge of program development and educating for the state funded Better Living for Texans (BLT) program.
Better Living for Texans is a cooperative endeavor between the Texas A&M AgriLIFE Extension Service, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. The program aims to serve limited income families throughout the county by teaching, at no cost to participants, nutrition-related concepts such as price comparison, healthy menu choices and preparation, and the importance of physical fitness. The curriculum provided by BLT educators is research-based and designed to increase the likelihood that Supplemental Nutrition Education Program (SNAP) recipients will make healthy food choices consistent with the most recent dietary advice from the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Participants will learn how to choose meals that are healthy and inexpensive to ensure their food dollars last longer. Live and hands-on food preparation demos will provide knowledge that will help to improve both dietary quality and food safety practices. The primary BLT class participants are SNAP recipients or those eligible for the SNAP program. In addition, families participating in the Head Start program, Women Infants and Children (WIC), individuals receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), SSI recipients, individuals receiving food from food pantries, and fixed-income senior citizens also qualify.
For more info on the program or to see if you qualify, please contact Lisa Mapel with the Brown County AgriLIFE Extension Office at 605 Fisk Ave in Brownwood; (325)646-0386; lisa.mapel@ag.tamu.edu.
