It’s now more convenient and easier than ever for Oregonians to save money and eat more vegetables and fruits by accessing easy recipes, shopping guides and cooking tips via the Oregon State University Extension Service’s Food Hero website.
Food Hero, part of the College of Public Health and Human Sciences’ portfolio of Extension and Public Health Practice programs, is a social marketing campaign designed to increase the consumption of vegetables and fruits among Oregonians eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The website, FoodHero.org, features healthy recipes, meal ideas, tips, budgeting tools, shopping tips and more, and it is accessed each month by more than 20,000 people.
The idea for the site came after Oregon State surveyed thousands of Oregonians eligible for federal food assistance. Although 81 percent said they wanted to serve more balanced meals, they tended not to eat recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables. Nearly half of those surveyed wanted to find information about healthy food choices online.
Extension nutritionists have demonstrated how to cook recipes from the website to families at about 60 elementary schools in 27 counties. Extension also emails a newsletter with recipes in Vietnamese, Spanish and English to its readers.
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Above: Nutrition Education Program Coordinator Lauren Tobey demonstrates how to cook healthy, easy meals by using techniques from foodhero.org. (Photo by Tomas Patlan)
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