For many years Food Hero — a popular nutrition education initiative of Oregon State University Extension Service — focused on families with children.
Although served by OSU Extension programs more broadly, older adults weren’t the main audience of Food Hero. In 2019, Food Hero started developing educational resources for older adults.
OSU Extension formed focus groups of older adults to survey their cooking habits and needs, before launching Food Hero for Older Adults in 2020. The program promotes healthy eating and movement among older adults through a quarterly newsletter developed by Food Hero in partnership with Oregon Department of Human Services and Oregon Dairy Council.
Housed on campus and in communities across the state, College of Health faculty funded by OSU Extension Family and Community Health deliver a variety of proactive health programming and create shared solutions to our greatest challenges to health.
Food Hero is a statewide initiative funded in part by the Oregon Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) program and was developed by OSU Extension in English and Spanish. All the recipes are tested with participant feedback according to criteria, such as overall flavor, color and texture. Food Hero meals are low-cost and feature easy-to-find ingredients, easy-to-follow instructions and minimal preparation time.
“We needed some specifically tailored resources for older adults,” says Dusti Linnell, an OSU Extension associate professor based in Tillamook County and a co-author of the Extension publication, “Nutrition for Older Adults: Preventing Malnutrition as the Body Ages.”
Unique nutritional needs and modifications
Food Hero formed focus groups of older adults who were enrolled in the federal Commodity Supplemental Food Program — which serves adults 60 and older — to survey their cooking habits and needs, especially from the ingredients included in the boxes they receive from food banks, pantries and other food assistance programs. Participants were selected from Lane and Benton counties.
Focus group participants reported concerns related to preparing food, such as cutting vegetables or moving pots and pans due to conditions like arthritis and back pain. As a result, Food Hero for Older Adults features recipes with modifications for all mobility levels.
Many focus group participants also indicated that they were interested in foods for healthy bones. Older adults in general have certain needs when it comes to nutrition, cooking and health, and they tend to be focused on nutrition as it relates to chronic disease management and prevention, according to Carol Walsh, a program coordinator for the SNAP-Ed program, which is administered by Extension.
“We focused on the ease of creating a recipe,” Carol says.
The newsletters include both nutrition and physical activity tips and information. Titles focused more on physical activity include “Moving More,” “Flexibility” and “Balance.”
“We make a concerted effort to combine physical activity with the nutrition,” Carol says.
Each newsletter includes suggestions and modifications — sticky notes — that allow each topic to be accessible and customized to ingredients on hand or mobility level. Examples include modifications for softer foods or food for two for older adults with dental concerns or who are only cooking for one or two people, Dusti says.
Recipes that reflect ingredients
Results from the focus groups in the food assistance program also revealed an interest in recipes that included ingredients commonly found in their food boxes such as rice, beans and lentils, says Rose Jepson-Sullivan, SNAP-Ed program manager and chair of the Food Hero for Older Adults workgroup.
Recipes included in the newsletters often feature these ingredients and highlight ways that they can support health.
“It is important to us that our resources are informed by those who use them,” says Rose, adding that Food Hero reviews materials every year to ensure they meet the needs of Oregonians.
Through a partnership with Oregon Food Bank and Oregon Department of Human Services, printed versions of Food Hero for Older Adults newsletters are intended to be placed in Commodity Supplemental Food Program food boxes across the state. Extension also partners with local senior and community centers as well as farmers markets.
“We work with a lot of community partners to offer programs and resources for older adults, including classes, events and educational displays,” Rose says.