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Virginia Cooperative Extension highlights financial education, nutrition and 4‑H impact in Frederick County
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Summary
Virginia Cooperative Extension told the Frederick County leadership council about local programming that helped residents build savings, supported limited‑resource families with nutrition education, and engaged thousands of youth through 4‑H, with participants describing statewide competitions and hands‑on learning.
Virginia Cooperative Extension officials presented an overview of local programs and partnerships at a joint Extension Leadership Council meeting, emphasizing family economics, nutrition education and youth development across the five‑county Northern Shenandoah Valley region.
Karen Poff, the Family & Consumer Sciences extension agent, described several programs with measurable short‑term impacts. Her "Managing Your Money" six‑lesson series reached 74 participants in 2022; among respondents, 80 percent established emergency savings and 80 percent began reconciling accounts monthly. Respondents reported $34,850 placed into savings or investment accounts and $8,200 paid toward consumer debt in the three months after the series — an average of $5,381 per responding participant and a $43,050 net change across respondents, Poff said.
Poff also outlined a new eight‑session Recovering Your Finances program developed for people in substance‑use recovery; she said 17 residents in Frederick County participated in the first class. The Super Pantry program, run with Family Nutrition partners and a local food bank, served 51 participants in 2022; 76 percent reported adopting at least one improved financial behavior, and 64 percent began saving (participants reported $1,356 in total savings, an average of about $50 per person per month), Poff said.
Poff noted other Extension activities — diabetes prevention, chronic disease management, ServSafe certification training for food managers and food‑preservation workshops — and described the Family Nutrition Program that uses SNAP funding through the Department of Social Services to serve limited‑resource audiences. She said several positions in nutrition education are grant funded.
Mark Subfin, the region’s commercial horticulture agent and unit coordinator (as identified in the meeting transcript), reviewed statewide Extension resources: 107 local offices across Virginia, 11 Agricultural Research and Extension Centers (ARECs), and the Allison H. Smith Agricultural Research and Extension Center in the Back Creek District, which operates a 24‑acre research farm and houses tree‑fruit and wine‑grape research. Subfin recognized Marcia Wright for 45 years of service to Extension in the region.
Spring Bassey, the county 4‑H agent, said last year roughly 350 youth participated in 4‑H clubs and more than 2,600 young people engaged countywide through after‑school programs, camps and clubs. Two 4‑H members, Kendall Mills (president, Shooting Education Club) and Jeremiah Clark (vice president), described competing at state and national events; Mills said the recent national trip to Nebraska “was the most awesome trip I've ever went on in my life.”
Extension staff urged partners to help maintain program funding and staffing levels so agents can continue outreach and technical assistance to farmers, families and youth. The presentation closed with offers to connect residents with forestry, NRCS and Soil & Water resources for technical help.
