Leaders highlight effort of OSU Extension

Lorain County commissioners received updates from educators at the local OSU Extension Office.

Lorain County commissioners received updates Nov. 4 from educators at The Ohio State University’s Lorain County Extension Office and their efforts to bring the university to the community.

With nearly 25,000 Lorain County residents engaged in OSU Extension programming in 2020, Kyle White, area leader and educator, says the office has been pivoting due to the novel coronavirus pandemic impacting services.

“COVID has obviously had an impact on how we deliver our training and our education program,” White said. “So, we just want you to know, we have been pivoting.”

White added the university has approved adapted technologies enabling the office to provide virtual workshops and clinics through video-conferencing.

It also provided a number of individually packaged togo kits for STEM programs so students can continue to learn and participate remotely.

The OSU Extension Office runs a number of community education programs in Lorain County, including 4-H youth development, agriculture and natural resources, and community development programming such as grant writing.

Some of its programming brings volunteer master gardeners into the community to help develop community gardens and provide in-depth education on creating their own gardens.

The program has collaborated with Oberlin Community Services and in Elyria, where a community garden on Louisiana Avenue yielded 80 pounds of produce that was donated to help tackle food insecurity.

“We’re very, very proud of those efforts, and we hope to expand those efforts as we go into 2021,” said Ann Chanon, educator, agriculture and natural resources at the Ohio State University’s Lorain County Extension Office.

With each year in agriculture presenting its own set of unique challenges, Chanon said the office link local producers with specialists to help mitigate depressed farm prices and issues stemming from invasive species and unprecedented rains in 2019.

Jacki Baca, a nutrition educator at the Ohio State University’s Lorain County Extension Office, said because of funding from Lorain County along with federal and state partners, it can bring numerous federal programs to Lorain County for the benefit of residents, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a free education program serving youth and low-income adults in improving nutritional education and how to eat healthier on a budget.

“When you look at overall impact of our food and nutrition programs, again, we’re seeing not just a change in our individuals, and families that are adapting healthier lifestyles, but we’re seeing a decrease in health costs and we’re seeing a decrease in absence from work and school,” Baca said.