“Major efforts are being expend-
ed to improve the diets of Illinois
residents in both rural and urban
areas -- diets that will help reduce
health problems associated with
obesity, including diabetes and
heart disease,” he said.
Hoeft said that food deserts -- ar-
eas in which people do not have
access to a full-service grocery
store -- are problematic in both
rural and urban settings.
“Often they lack transportation to
the store,” he said.
One way Extension is address-
ing the problem in the East St.
Louis area is by leasing a bus
one day per month to transport
people from the food desert area
to a grocery store and by provid-
ing them education as they travel
to the store about how to buy
healthy food.
“On the trip back, Extension spe-
cialists provide education on how
to process and store the food that
they bought,” Hoeft said. “With-
out this program, many of these
people would have to purchase
groceries in a convenience store
that doesn’t carry fresh fruits
and vegetables. There are also
some rural counties where people
have to drive 60 miles to get to a
grocery store. They have to shop
at gas station convenience stores.
We’re trying to address that prob-
lem,” he said.
The number of specialists per
county may be fewer today than
in the 1980s, but technology
has allowed Extension to adapt
and increase its reach. Demon-
strations are still an important
component, but now they can be
distributed via the Internet, Hoeft
said.
“Today people want information
faster,” he said. “Extension’s
farmdoc website and its new
mobile app is an example of how
Extension responded to farmers
so that they can get information
when and where they want it.
With a webinar, we can take a
presentation or demonstration
right into their home. People can
watch it at their leisure, or if they
watch it while it’s being broad-
cast live, they can type a ques-
tion and get an answer from the
presenter in real time.”
Hoeft calls today’s Extension
specialists rock stars.
“We just need more of them to
be able to listen to the public and
find out their needs so that we
can conduct research to address
those problems,” he said. “Right
now about 10 percent of our fac-
ulty in the College of ACES have
an Extension component to their
position. We’re working with
other colleges at U of I and other
agencies to bring their expertise
to our audiences,” he said.
Extension units throughout Il-
linois are currently celebrating
the 100th anniversary of the
1914 signing of the Smith-Lever
Act that established Cooperative
Extension Services. A central-
ized interactive website has been
created with photos, Extension
highlights, a 100-years game and
Pinterest accounts. The site wel-
comes people to upload photos
and comments to help document
the 100-year legacy of University
of Illinois Extension. Visit web.
extension.illinois.edu/100yrs.
“Those who were active in those
first years of Extension in 1914
would be amazed at where we are
today,” Hoeft said. “And I can’t
begin to envision where we’ll be
100 years from now.
[Text from news release posted
by University of Illinois Exten-
sion]
page 8 2013 LOGAN COUNTY FAIR. A special editon of LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com July 30, 2013
