Tennessee Extension program boosts diversity through photo database
Due to a lack of diversity, Tennessee State University’s SNAP-Education Program launched a social media and branding campaign in 2019 to accurately represent communities of color actively engaging in healthy lifestyles.
Through the “Shop.Cook.Eat. Within Your Budget” campaign, the program has reached 3,343,576 Tennesseans with indirect education by the fourth quarter of FY22. Photos and interactive media from the diversity database are being used in various marketing efforts by other organizations. The SNAP-Education Program has increased its indirect education contacts, totaling more than 600% in the last three years. In addition, use of diversity database images to wrap buses for social marketing and branding by other 1890 land-grants has also been requested. TSU SNAP-Education has worked with the General Counsel’s Office to create an annual license agreement that provides access to the images for use in other SNAP-Education and EFNEP programs. The diversity database was also accepted into the National SNAP-Ed Toolkit in July 2022.
Plans include continuing to expand the diversity database to include other ethnic/racial groups, ableness populations and various types of family structures that are present in communities. Such a database has already proven to be an effective tool to reach under-represented groups who are eligible to participate in community nutrition education programming across the state and nation.
Link to full statement on website: http://landgrantimpacts.tamu.edu/impacts/show/5933