
Family and Consumer Sciences
UF/IFAS Extension, Lake County Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) agent delivers research-based educational programs to enhance and sustain the quality of life of those living in Lake County. The main areas of focus are health and wellness and food systems. The health and wellness programs empower individuals and families to adopt healthy eating habits and lifestyle changes that can lead to positive health outcomes. The food systems programs focus on food preservation, and farm-to-table learning experiences to preserve and keep food safely, decrease food waste and understand nutrient roles in health.
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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.
- The Science of Cheesemaking
- Program introduces participants to the cheesemaking process, nutrition, food safety steps and hands on practice of a homemade cheese product.
- 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
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- 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
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- Keeping It Healthy
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Family Resource Management
- Money Matters UF/IFAS information:
- Additional Resources
- Blogs
CONTACT

Lori Johnson Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent 352-343-4101 lorijohnson@ufl.edu
Physical Address Agriculture Center, 1951 Woodlea Rd. Tavares, FL 32778
Mailing Address 1951 Woodlea Rd., Tavares, FL 32778
Hours Monday - Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm