Ruthie Losavio, Jessica Randazzo, Katherine Seals and Denise Holston

The LSU AgCenter Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) program teaches SNAP recipients and other limited-resource audiences how to make healthy choices with a limited budget. Through SNAP-Ed, people can learn how to prepare nutritious, affordable meals and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Below are highlights from the program’s outreach in 2024.

Healthy Communities Initiative

LSU AgCenter Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) agents support parish-level Healthy Communities initiatives to implement policy, systems and environmental changes, providing long-term, sustainable solutions to the health challenges our communities face. Learn more about Healthy Communities at www.LSUAgCenter.com/HealthyCommunities.

Rural Complete Streets Summit

The LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities initiative, with support from SNAP-Ed staff, hosted two sessions of the Louisiana Rural Complete Streets Summit in Baton Rouge and Ruston. Rural community teams shared ideas, explored funding opportunities and identified areas of need. The previous summit helped small towns secure over $13 million in funding. This year's summit aims to replicate that success in more rural towns across Louisiana, ensuring safer transportation for all residents, including older adults, people with disabilities, bicyclists and pedestrians.

Cullen Square Community Garden

Shakera Williams, Webster Parish SNAP-Ed agent, led a garden project to improve food access at the Cullen Square Senior Apartment complex. SNAP-Ed provided funding, hands-on garden assistance and quarterly nutrition education classes on food dollar management, food safety and healthy eating. More than 40 participants attended the lessons, and residents reported increased access to vegetables and a stronger sense of community.

Colfax Trail Makeover

Madison Willis, a SNAP-Ed agent in Grant Parish, worked with the mayor of Colfax and a local health coalition to enhance a local walking trail. LSU AgCenter SNAP-Ed provided signs with simple exercise prompts, added a new bench, painted playground stencils and created a silly walking track for kids. These additions significantly increased park usage. As a result, the town has now assigned staff to maintain the trail, and the community uses the space for events like local health fairs.

Facen Park Facelift

The Ouachita Healthy Communities Coalition, led by SNAP-Ed agent Cathy Agan, used grant funding to transform a neighborhood park in West Monroe. SNAP-Ed organized volunteers to install new amenities, creating a welcoming space for play. The neighborhood celebrated the improvements with a block party, demonstrating their new pride in the park. The city of West Monroe has committed to maintaining the park, and the project’s success has inspired similar initiatives in other parks.

Ruthie Losavio is the communications coordinator for the AgCenter Healthy Communities program. Jessica Randazzo is a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) field coordinator and Katherine Seals is a research associate in the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences. Denise Holston, a registered dietitian and an associate professor in the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, leads the Healthy Communities initiative.

This article appeared in the winter 2025 issue of Louisiana Agriculture.

Photo by Ruthie Losavio

Photo by Ruthie Losavio

Photo by Ruthie Losavio