For several years, Ann Wynn has attended the Caldwell County Gets Foodwise program at the housing area where she lives. Using what she has learned, Wynn is 100 pounds lighter.

“I just thought I’d come over and see what it was about,” she said. “My husband is a diabetic so I started it on him and I went on it too. I didn’t know I was losing but I could tell it in my clothes. When I went to the doctor about two or three months ago she said, you know what, you’ve lost 100 pounds.”

Wynn said she also does some exercising and “dances with her vacuum.”

The program is conducted by Christine Rivera, Caldwell County family and consumer science agent with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service .

“We meet monthly, and basically we want to improve diets and encourage lots of fruits and vegetables,” Rivera said. “We also want to get people more active and exercise and really know the importance of being healthy and how diet and exercise can even reduce the cost of health care.”

Rivera said they were very excited about Wynn’s success and a small celebration was held in her honor. No cake, but a strawberry tofu delight, was served along with information on how to repair it.

The program encompasses budgeting as well as healthy eating.

“If started out as the Foodwise program to help food stamp recipients utilize their food stamps in a more efficient manner,” she said. “That program ended in western Kentucky , but because of local funding and generous donations from a local grocery we have been able to continue.”

Wynn said she plans to continue attending the program and learning healthy ways to prepare food. She said she also wants to continue to lose weight.

“I really like it, it’s really helped me,” she said. “The only thing I had a hard time with was sweet stuff but you can still have sweet stuff, just healthier sweet stuff.”

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