Steps to Health is North Carolina State University’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) Program. We empower youth, adults, and communities through evidence-based nutrition programs to promote healthy eating behaviors and food resource management strategies. We collaborate with partner organizations to expand and build healthy food and physical activity access in local and regional communities. The SNAP-Ed goal is to improve the likelihood that persons eligible for SNAP will make healthy food choices within a limited budget and choose physically active lifestyles consistent with the current Dietary Guideline for Americans and the USDA food guidance. Read more at: ncstepstohealth.ces.ncsu.edu

Here are a few of the programs that we offer:

Color Me Healthy

A nutrition and physical activity program for children ages four and five. It is designed to stimulate all the senses of young children: touch, smell, sight, sound, and of course, taste. It uses color, music, and exploration of the senses to teach children that healthy eating and physical activity are fun. Read more at: Color Me Healthy

Kids Club

Step to Health’s Kids Club serves youth at Summer Food Service Sites and After School sites across North Carolina. The program consists of 8 sessions, 30 minutes in length, that are designed to teach youth about nutrition and physical activity in a fun and engaging way through activities and games. Session topics include ways to be active inside and outside, participating in activities to improve heart and bone health, eating more fruits and vegetables, and drinking more water. Read more at: Catch Kids Club

Take Control

Take Control is an 8 session chronic disease prevention program that provides strategies to help adults manage their health. It informs, empowers, and motivates participants to change their eating and physical activity patterns. The program provides opportunities for participants to track their goals and progress toward healthy eating and physical activity behaviors. Each 1-hour session contains a basic cooking demonstration of a healthy recipe. The recipes and nutrition handouts are provided to program participants. Evaluation of the program is conducted via a pre- and post-behavior survey. Read more at: Take Control

Faithful Families Thriving Communities

works directly in communities of faith across the country to promote health for individuals, families, and local communities. The practice-tested program is open to all faith and religious traditions and engages faith communities in health education, environmental changes to support health, and community-wide health initiatives.
Read more at: Faithful Families

Policy, Systems, & Environmental Change Initiatives

Steps to Health is dedicated to inspiring healthier communities by shaping the environments where limited-income people buy, cook, consume, and enjoy food. We support NC State Extension professionals in efforts to create policies, systems, and environments that make the healthy choice the easy choice in locations that serve low-income families and individuals. Steps to Health is piloting comprehensive toolkits designed to guide these efforts in a number of settings, including, community sites, farmers’ markets, food pantries, and food banks, schools, and food retail stores. Read more at: Policy, Systems, & Environmental Change Initiatives

If you are interested in increasing access to healthy foods and physical activity opportunities, please contact EB Odom at eb_odom@ncsu.edu.