Welcome to SNAP-Ed

Join us as we look back on Alabama Extension at Auburn University SNAP-Ed’s successes during the last year! Our team is committed to improving the environment around health and well-being for Alabamians, focusing on limited-resource communities. Bettering dietary and physical activity behaviors of individuals and families and building partnerships to improve the health of communities are among key SNAP-Ed efforts to Make the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice.

30 Educators | 10 Regional Extension Agents | 54 Counties

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SNAP-Ed Impact & Partnership

SNAP-Ed uses an evidence-based, multilevel approach to support the health of Alabamians, especially those with limited resources. In 2024, SNAP-Ed provided nutrition education to 44,401 individuals across a wide variety of settings, such as schools, food pantries, grocery stores, and many more.

SNAP-Ed also partnered with local communities to facilitate 989 policy changes, systems changes, and environmental improvements to make it easier for 73,474 people with limited resources to choose healthy foods, healthy beverages, and physically active lifestyles.

SNAP-Ed works in partnership with more than 740 state and local organizations to positively impact Alabama.

44 Agricultural organizations & farmers markets | 27 City planning organizations | 14 Colleges & universities | 5 Community gardens | 48 Early care & education facilities | 41 Faith-based groups | 21 Food banks and pantries | 16 Healthcare organizations | 69 Foundations & nonprofit organizations | 26 Housing authorities | 38 Local governments/ agencies | 32 Libraries | 131 Parks & recreation centers | 208 Schools | 22 Stores & restaurants

Set a Small Health Goal for the Month

Setting a small health goal is a powerful way to create lasting, positive changes because small, focused actions can gradually build into healthier habits over time. Pick one small, healthy change to focus on, such as swapping a sugar-sweetened beverage for a glass of water or adding one extra serving of fruits or vegetables to your meals. Write it on your calendar to stay on track!

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Live Well in Schools

During the 2023–2024 school year, SNAP-Ed educators provided Body Quest (BQ) to 7,328 third graders in 109 schools. Classes included a mix of educator-led discussions, guided vegetable tastings, and hands-on activities.

• Parents Getting Involved. BQ engaged parents in nutrition and physical activity education alongside their children. Weekly text messages encouraged 2,091 parents to make healthier choices. Healthy recipes were provided for parents and children to prepare and test together at home.
• Healthy Eating. After BQ, students ate more fruit, vegetables, protein, dairy, and whole grains.
• Beverage Consumption. After BQ, students drank more water, fewer sugary beverages, and more low or reduced fat milk.
• Attitudes. After BQ, students said they actually liked eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains more.
• Physical Activity. After BQ, most students began engaging in at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day.

Parents responded to a text message survey to measure additional changes after BQ:

• 80% used tips provided in text messages.
• 88% noticed their child ate more fruits and vegetables, tried new foods, or both.
• 95% kept fewer sugary beverages in their homes.
• 96% found more ways to be active with their 3rd grader.

What’s for DINNER? Want to try one of our BQ recipes? It is the perfect addition to your weeknight dinner plans. Check out Live Well Alabama’s Turkey Spinach Wraps.

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Food Smarts Adult Curriculum

SNAP-Ed connects with families in places they visit every day, offering hands-on, easy-to-follow nutrition education. SNAP-Ed taught 6,549 adults using Food Smarts curriculum lessons in grocery stores, food pantries, libraries, farmers markets, community centers, and more. Food Smarts participants learn to choose whole foods whenever possible, the importance of eating a balanced plate with a variety of foods, and smart shopping tips to stretch food dollars.

Increase in Healthy Eating Behaviors

After completing a four- to six-lesson Food Smarts education series, 112 participants reported significant improvements in their eating habits, including increased fruit and vegetable intake and higher water consumption.

March is National Nutrition Month

Be inspired to stick to a healthy goal this month. Use MyPlate to plan your meals and stay on track. Download the Start Simple with MyPlate app. With this app, you can set simple daily food goals and find easy-to-follow recipes.

Give menu planning a try. Use the calendar to organize meals and learn how planning can help you save money and enjoy healthier meals.

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Move Alabama

Move Alabama encourages Alabamians to stay motivated and physically active through statewide challenges, social media engagement, text message education, and community pop-up challenges. During the 2024 one-month challenge, 1,900 Facebook followers engaged in more than 270 posts of photos and comments with more than 14,000 views, 235 comments, and 3,091 reactions.

Join Us! Follow Move Alabama on Facebook. Share the ways you are moving more this month.

Pop-Up Challenges

Move Alabama pop-up challenges create demand for environmental enhancements to physical activity in Alabama communities. In 2024, county teams worked closely with more than 275 community partners to organize 62 pop-up challenges, engaging more than 4,004 individuals in physical activity. A participant survey revealed these positive outcomes:

• 74% learned about a new way to be physically active in their community.
• 81% were confident or completely confident that they could be more physically active in their everyday lives after completing Move Alabama.
• 74% developed a plan to continue being physically active after Move Alabama.

Add Movement to Your Celebrations

Terronda Fields in Butler County introduced the Move Alabama Pop-Up Challenge as part of the school nutrition program. At Greenville Elementary, students and teachers enjoyed an exciting Color Run and Healthy Celebration. This event was designed not only for fun but also to encourage lifelong healthy habits among participants.

Torie Ennis and Christina Drummond from SNAP-Ed in Etowah County turned up the excitement with a community-wide Move Alabama Color Run. People of all ages joined the run, getting splashed with vibrant colors at every step. The festivities continued after the race with booths from community organizations offering engaging activities for children.

Try this simple change! Take a 15-minute exercise break during the workday.

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Live Well Social Marketing

Live Well Alabama encouraged Alabamians to Eat Better, Move More, and Choose Water. Messages reached people year-round through media: billboards, digital ads, social media, and texting. Four new Choose Water messages were developed with input gathered through an online survey with 203 adult SNAP-Ed participants.

• Billboards made 86 million impressions in 44 counties.
• Digital advertisements made more than 12 million impressions and drove views to visit the Live Well Alabama Facebook page more than 21,000 times.
• The Live Well Alabama text messaging campaign shared weekly educational tips with more than 6,300 people.

During the summer, 423 adult SNAP-Ed participants took an online survey about the Choose Water campaign.

• 89% had heard of Live Well Alabama.
• 70% recalled at least one Choose Water message.
• Of those, 77% said they drank more water after seeing one of the messages.
• Of those, 77% were taking steps to drink fewer sugary beverages.
• The most popular billboard design was our baseball player.

Track Your Water! Pause for a water break during the day. Sip a full glass of water to rehydrate and recharge your mind. It is a great way to stay hydrated and improve focus. Make it a family challenge. Wrap it up with a fun and healthy water celebration—think outdoor water balloons, squirt guns, or a sprinkler party to cool off and enjoy.

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Live Well in Communities: Gardens

SNAP-Ed supported 49 school and community gardens in 2024. SNAP-Ed used gardens for conducting nutrition education, tastings, and cooking demonstrations; supplying school meals and snacks with produce; and increasing access to produce for individuals and families.

The gardens produced more than 1,580 pounds of produce valued at $3,784. This equaled 6,174 servings of fruits and vegetables, which is enough for 1,235 adults to meet the USDA daily recommendations.

Growing Helping Hands

Led by Bullock and Macon County SNAP-Ed educator Dominguez Hurry, students learned about the nutrition of grains such as wheat, rye, and oats. They gained hands-on experience measuring the length of the plants and learning how these grains grow.

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Live Well in Communities: Healthy Food Retail

SNAP-Ed partnered with 16 local food stores and farmers markets to provide nutrition education to shoppers, to promote healthy items through improved store layouts and signage, to increase accessibility and affordability of healthy options through promotion of SNAP EBT payments, pricing specials, voucher programs, and improvements in days and hours of operation, and to connect local food stores with health promotion efforts in their communities.

Voucher Program

Cindy Harper, SNAP-Ed educator in St. Clair County, took nutrition programming full circle and partnered with the local Piggly Wiggly in Ashville to encourage shoppers to purchase fruits and veggies. After receiving 15 weeks of nutrition education, students were rewarded with $5 produce vouchers to select their favorite fruits and veggies. More than $400 in produce vouchers were donated to the students, showing the store’s strong commitment to the Ashville community.

Double Up Food Bucks

SNAP-Ed collaborated with Auburn University’s Hunger Solutions Institute to promote the Double Up Food Bucks program, allowing SNAP participants to double their fruit and vegetable purchases at participating stores. In 2024, SNAP-Ed helped 919 individuals at these sites make their food dollars go further with nutrition programming.

Visit a Farmers Market

July is the perfect month to stock up on in-season produce from your local farmers market. Try bell peppers, cantaloupes, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, snap beans, squash, corn, tomatoes, and watermelons.

Visit www.aces.edu/blog/topics/food-safety/buying-storing-preparing-fresh-vegetables/ for tips on buying, storing, and preparing fresh vegetables, courtesy of Alabama Extension.

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Live Well in Schools

SNAP-Ed facilitated 598 positive changes in 107 schools, creating healthier environments for more than 38,000 students.

• Policy changes encouraged the establishment of new food distribution sites, such as food pantries, and supported healthy nutrition in schools.
• Systems changes increased the availability of local fresh produce in school cafeterias and healthy beverage options for various school events.
• Environmental improvements established or sustained edible school gardens, improved opportunities for physical activity, and provided tastings and signage throughout the school encouraging students to make healthy choices.

107 SCHOOLS | 36 COUNTIES | 38,202 STUDENTS | 598 POSITIVE

Healthy Competition

Students at Nathaniel H. Stephens Elementary had fun with an exciting Hacky Sack competition led by SNAP-Ed educator Tabatha Glassburn from Coosa and Tallapoosa Counties. After sharpening their skills during Body Quest lessons, the third graders were ready to show off their moves in a friendly competition organized by Tabatha and the school’s gym teacher.

Walking Field Trip

Sherri Mulder and Kara Hall, SNAP-Ed educators in Randolph and Chambers Counties, teamed up with local leaders and community volunteers to create a successful outdoor learning event for second and third graders. The goal was to introduce school administrators to a fresh perspective on field trips. Students walked along a trail, stopping at various stations to learn about sun safety, hydration, and nutrition and to engage in physical activities.

Back to School

Accept the Healthy Snack Swap Challenge and help your children begin the school year energized. Partner with your children and commit to swapping out one unhealthy snack for a healthier
alternative.

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Food Pantries

SNAP-Ed partnered with 50 food pantries to facilitate 158 positive changes and help improve nutrition security for more than 21,000 pantry clients per month in 2024. Changes included offering on-site nutrition education, enhancing the visual display of healthy options, connecting pantries to sources of fresh produce, and assisting with fundraisers and food drives to increase healthy food offerings.

Donate Health!

When donating to your local food pantry, consider providing nutritious options to support the health and well-being of families in need. Healthy foods nourish the body and mind, helping individuals thrive. Your thoughtful donations make a big difference.

Donation Ideas

• Canned vegetables (low sodium)
• Whole-grain pasta or rice
• Canned tuna or chicken (packed in water)
• Peanut butter (low sugar or natural)
• Dried or canned beans (no added salt)
• Unsweetened applesauce or dried fruit

Find a Food Pantry

Visit feedingalabama.org/need-help to find food pantries in your area for donations or resources.

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Live Well in Communities: Physical Activity

SNAP-Ed is actively involved in partnering with local communities to create easy and engaging opportunities for residents to be physically active. The partnerships resulted in 185 improvements to physical activity facilities, outdoor spaces, walking paths, roadways, and parks, serving 17,665 Alabamians every day.

Literacy & Physical Activity through Book Walks

In 2024, SNAP-Ed took part in a project that provided funding for the installation of weatherproof signage displaying book pages and physical activity prompts. This initiative supported 12 sites across Alabama. SNAP-Ed agents Desiree Hutcherson-Bates and Arkaya King-Pace from the Jefferson County Extension office collaborated with the city of Irondale to install these signs along a half-mile walking trail.

“This location is perfect for a book walk, its proximity to the school gives students more opportunities to take walking field trips.” – Desiree Hutcherson-Bates SNAP-Ed Agent in Jefferson County

Leaping Like Frogs, Walking on Tightropes with Sensory Paths

In 2024, seventeen communities across Alabama introduced sensory paths—colorful, stencil-painted pathways designed to inspire families to move in fun and creative ways. These paths encourage full-body engagement as kids and adults follow along, leaping like frogs, walking tightropes, crawling like crabs, marching like ants, or pausing to relax like trees.

SNAP-Ed in Active Transportation

Traffic gardens and bike rodeos are among the creative approaches SNAP-Ed uses to offer fun environments where participants can develop safety skills and explore active transportation. SNAP-Ed REAs Jacob Bailey, Desiree Hutcherson-Bates, and Ginger Eatman partner with community organizations to initiate these pop-up events. Kids and adults ride their bikes on a realistic racetrack while learning important bike and street safety practices.

The Goal

Walking and biking practices are integrated into school curricula and community recreation.

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Live Well in Communities: Engaging Alabama’s Youth

Farmers Walk

Michelle Puckett and Elizabeth Kohen from SNAP-Ed in Barbour and Henry Counties celebrated Farm City Month by involving students in an annual Farmer Walk. Children from the Eufaula Early Learning Center walked from station to station while reading Right This Very Minute and learning how farmers grow food. At each station, they received different foods to learn about, culminating in a complete lunch to enjoy. Regional Extension agents, agent assistants, Future Farmers of America, a local hardware store, and volunteers joined forces to support the Farmers Walk stations.

“So many partners and volunteers helped make all these events happen. I think it is so cool to see that many people working together to make something happen.” – Michelle Puckett, REA in Barbour & Henry Counties

Let’s Play!

Jacob Bailey, a SNAP-Ed regional Extension agent for Lee and Russell Counties, introduced the magic of loose parts—a treasure trove of what some might call junk. It is all about diving back into the heart of childhood: creativity, imagination, and the joy of unstructured play. Bailey’s initiative is more than fun and games. It is about nurturing young minds to think big, build resilience, and prepare for life’s adventures. Here, kids develop social skills, tackle problem-solving, and build emotional intelligence while having a blast.

Read more about Loose Parts at www.aces.edu/blog/topics/home-family/transforming-playtime-with-the-magic-of-loose-parts/.

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Social Media: Community, Resources, Encouragement

The Live Well Alabama Facebook page encourages healthy eating and active living by sharing easy recipes, practical tips, and community success stories to help all Alabamians improve their well-being. Social media following and engagement grew across all platforms from the previous year. Facebook posts reached more than 580,000 accounts. The Live Well Alabama audience grew 36% this year. Engagement by followers on posts increased more than 110%.

Follow Us to Join the Fun!

• Facebook 
• Instagram
• X

Educators

Regional Extension Agents

State Staff

 

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New January 2025, SNAP-Ed FY24 Annual Report, FCS-2846

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Past Reports

• SNAP-Ed FY23 Annual Report, FCS-2790
• SNAP-Ed FY22 Annual Report, FCS-2720
• SNAP-Ed FY21 Annual Report, FCS-2613
• SNAP-Ed FY20 Annual Report,FCS-2469

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) is an equal opportunity educator, employer, and provider. If you need a reasonable accommodation or language access services, contact Katie Funderburk at kem0017@aces.edu.