During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cooperative Extension professionals, like many others, were tasked with quickly adapting to accommodate limited face-to-face interactions. The pandemic necessitated that Extension educators leverage online resources to deliver tailored programming in informative and innovative ways while providing engaging, hands-on…

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to understand the perceptions Extension professionals have about healthy food retail programs (HFRPs). Family and Consumer Science (FCS) agents from one state in the southeastern United States were interviewed about their definitions of HFRPs, what challenges and benefits existed, and strategies for…

Poverty is a pervasive issue impacting many areas of human sciences and Extension. Individuals living in the United States may have varying attitudes toward poverty. Research has shown that poverty simulations are effective in modifying attitudes toward poverty. The Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) program is one such example that…

Service-learning is recognized by colleges and universities for its benefits to students; however, locating partners for course-specific service-learning projects and ways to manage these projects within a class can be a complex challenge for faculty. This challenge is magnified when faculty strive to maintain course-specific objectives while…

North Carolina Extension specialists conducted a needs assessment of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) agents to determine their foods and nutrition programming needs. Researchers examined agent and community needs, agent-offered programming, and barriers and facilitators to program implementation. Results will help inform the development of…

Between 2000 and 2013, the suburbs in the country's largest metro areas saw their low-income population grow twice as fast as primary urban cities. In 2018, the Pew Research Center reported that poverty increased more sharply in suburbs than in urban and rural counties (Parker et al., 2018). The rise in suburban poverty coincides with an…

Sustainable eating may benefit both the environment and human health. Currently, no Extension programs addressing healthy and sustainable eating are available that target adults in communities. Since sustainable eating is a sensitive topic, this project engaged Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Extension agents in Kentucky, to garner their…

A Health in All Policies approach engages cross-sector stakeholders to collaboratively improve systems that drive population health. We, the members of the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP)'s Health in All Policies Action Team, propose that adopting a Health in All Policies approach within the national Cooperative Extension…

The majority of university family science courses are predominantly comprised of women. Because family science classes are centered on information and concepts relevant for both men and women, it is important to understand gendered experiences to promote healthy family and romantic relationships. Not only would men benefit from these classes, but…

Public health efforts have emphasized changes to policies, systems, and environments (PSEs) to improve health behaviors for individuals and communities. Extension has increasingly emphasized these approaches, particularly for the work of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) agents. In part, this emphasis on PSEs in Extension has been driven by…

Many parent and family education programs lack a clearly articulated program theory that is solidly founded in the social science literature and used to guide rigorous evaluation. This article describes the program theory for Parents Forever, a divorce education program developed by the Minnesota Extension to serve divorcing parents. The Parents…

Extension has recently begun delivering physical activity programs, but delivering evidence-based interventions is a challenge. To increase adoption of evidence-based interventions, a better understanding of agents' perceptions and needs is necessary. The purpose of this research was to conduct a readiness assessment to identify organizational…

The University of Minnesota Extension, in partnership with the Consulate of Mexico in Saint Paul, Minnesota, expanded the Ventanilla de Asesoría Financiera -Financial Education and Family Asset Protection Program to serve families in rural areas. The financial education services were expanded to 25 rural counties in Minnesota during 2017 and 2018.…