Family and Consumer Sciences 

UF/IFAS Extension in Lake County Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) agent teaches helpful, research-based programs to improve the lives of people in the community. The main topics are health and wellness and food systems.

Health and wellness programs help people learn healthy eating habits and make lifestyle changes that support better health.

Food systems programs teach skills like food preservation and farm‑to‑table learning. These lessons help people keep food safe, reduce food waste, and understand how nutrients support good health.

• Health, Wellness and Food Systems

  Keeping It Healthy

  • • A 3-part series focusing on menu planning, cooking for 1 or 2 and hydration.
    • Various programs are offered to convey healthy nutritional practices regarding the Dietary Guidelines for Americans; MyPlate; food label reading; healthy shopping on a budget; food safety; and the importance of physical activity.

  Your Health Matters

  • • Programs offered focus on prevention and management of diabetes.
    • A 3-part series focusing on reading food labels, Plate Method for Diabetics, and foot care, eye health and physical activity. Program available anytime at https://ifas-lake.catalog.instructure.com/courses/your-health-matters-focus-on-diabetes.

  Dining with Diabetes

  • • A 4-part series focusing on healthy cooking techniques, and management strategies for those with pre-diabetes, diabetes, and their caregivers. Includes hands-on cooking experience.

  Med instead of Meds

  • • A 6-part series exploring the Mediterranean Diet, tips, recipes and how it can aid in prevention and management of chronic diseases. Includes hands-on cooking experience. 

  Bone Health

  • • A 7-part series focusing various topics to build and maintain bone health for life. Topics include osteoporosis, medications, healthy eating tips, important nutrients, fall prevention, and physical activity. Includes recipe demo

  Let’s Walk Florida

  • • A virtual educational program designed to help Floridians achieve health though physical activity.
    • A 6 week, online educational program designed to help Floridians achieve health through physical activity.

  Food Preservation

  • • Hands-on classes learning and practicing water bath and pressure canning food preservation methods. Each class offers a different focus area with education, food safety and recipe creation.

  Timeless Tastes

  • • Program offered during the fall and spring season at Great Scott Farms. Each session features a local produce item, horticulture information, crop history, nutrition, food safety, a recipe demonstration and sampling.

  Taste of Cultures

  • • A 4-part series focusing on food and flavor history, health benefits of common spices, and honoring cultural traditions with healthier cooking preparation methods. Includes a hands-on cooking experience.

  Growing, Cooking and Preserving with Herbs

  • • This program provides a guide how to grow, prepare, preserve, store, and use fresh herbs in cooking. Participants will learn health benefits of fresh herbs,  create spice and tea blends and plant seeds to take home.

  Additional Resources

  • • • Health and Nutrition
      • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
      • Healthfinder--National Health Information Center
      • MyPlate--USDA
      • National Institutes of Health
      • American Diabetes Association
      • American Heart Association
      • Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
      • Importance of Family Meals
      • Keeping Your Heart Healthy
      • Understanding High Blood Pressure
      • Diabetes Prevention and Management
      • Preparing for a Hurricane: Food & Supplies
      • After the Storm: Food Safety
      • Eating on a Budget
      • Managing Your Health: High Blood Pressure
      • Managing Your Health: High Cholesterol
      • Meal Planning Senior Nutrition

   

• Family Resource Management

  Money Matters UF/IFAS information:

  • • • Personal Finance
      • Banking and Saving
      • Budgeting, Planning and Recordkeeping
      • Credit and Debt Management
      • Estate Planning
      • Finance and Family
      • Life Skills Development
      • Home Ownership
      • Insurance

  Additional Resources

  • • • Florida Saves
      • Managing Your Finances
      • Consumer Action (FCIC)
      • Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
      • Florida Department of Financial Services
      • Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
      • My Money
      • Choose to Save

   

• Blogs

  Blogs Page for Lori Johnson