B.R.I.C. Gardening

Building Resilient Inclusive Communities

The Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center’s SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education Program, in partnership with Well Ahead Louisiana, seeks to enhance the local communities of northern Louisiana through gardening and physical activity initiatives. In collaboration with community leaders and agencies, we seek to create an environment that allows for community businesses and persons to invest not only in the surrounding area but themselves as well. The new environment will be inclusive of gardening sites and physical activity areas with signage to increase body movement. This new project will overall provide a safe space for health literacy and community engagement. We hope to motivate the local community to continue to engage and utilize these investments after funding has concluded.

Program Objectives

State Objective: Statewide 15% of SNAP target audience in this segment will be physically active for at least three days per week as part of a healthy lifestyle by September 30, 2022, due to data indicating the majority (approximately 85%) of Louisiana adults do not get regular physical activity.
Intervention Method: Growing Healthy Gardening Initiative
Intervention Objective: Growing Healthy Gardening Initiative is a gardening initiative for youth, adults, and seniors. The initiative targets head starts, schools, the council of aging centers, community centers, faith-based organizations, and transient housing complexes. Organizations are given the option of planting in-ground gardens, orchids, or container gardens. Participants are taught direct education lessons, and the gardening complements the programming. The gardens are used to teach and reinforce healthy eating through physical activity.
Project Objective Description: Regarding PSE’s, the SNAP-Ed staff is required to participate in the local parish and statewide advisory committees and workgroups. The advisory committees/workgroups are comprised of local and state-level individuals who represent state and local agencies, non-profit organizations, schools, other educational entities, etc. These individuals work either directly or indirectly with SNAP clientele. The SNAP-Ed staff work in conjunction with these individuals to ensure that a comprehensive approach to nutrition education is being employed and to ensure that the appropriate policies are being formulated to help guide positive behavior changes. They also ensure that multi-level interventions are presented. As a result, in addition to nutrition education, youth clientele participates in gardening and summer youth cooking schools; adults participate in gardening and grocery store shopping tours.

B.R.I.C. Gardening

Building Resilient Inclusive Communities

Program Objectives

State Objective: Statewide 15% of SNAP target audience in this segment will be physically active for at least three days per week as part of a healthy lifestyle by September 30, 2022, due to data indicating the majority (approximately 85%) of Louisiana adults do not get regular physical activity.

Intervention Method: Growing Healthy Gardening Initiative