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.

• 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. 

  • Healthy for Life
    • A community-based nutrition and well-being program that will help you gain new skills to prepare and experience healthy foods. Includes hands-on cooking experience, demo or lecture based.

  • 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 10 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.

  • Farm-to-Table
    • Program offered during the fall and spring season at Great Scott Farms. Each session includes a theme featuring local produce, nutrition education, storage, 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.

  • Cooking with Herbs
    • This program provides a visual guide of how to prepare, store and use fresh herbs in cooking. Participants will learn about how spice blends can be used in cooking. Hands-on activity includes creating sample spice blends and tea bags.

  • 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

   

• 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
      • Funeral Planning
      • Home Ownership
      • Insurance

  • Additional Resources
    • Florida Saves
    • Stretching Your Grocery Dollar
    • Managing Your Finances
    • Closing Your Seasonal Home Checklist
    • 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