Cornell Cooperative Extension

Ulster County
Youth eating corn in field

Eat local, be healthy!

Food and Nutrition

Welcome to our Food and Nutrition page! Cornell Cooperative Extension Ulster County offers free and low-cost educational workshops and useful information on food-related topics from food safety and nutrition to healthy eating on a limited budget. Explore our links, check out our upcoming events, and give us a call!

Nutrition Education:

  • SNAP-Ed Program provides community-based nutrition education and obesity prevention activities targeted to SNAP and SNAP eligible populations. SNAP-Ed also works on policy, systems and environmental changes to improve access to healthy food. Currently, PSE work is focused on School Wellness Policies, Smarter Lunchrooms and Food Pantries. (Funded by NIFA through OTDA and CCEOC)
  • Hudson River Fish Advisory Program (HRFA) provides education and resources on the safety of eating fish from the Hudson River and its tributaries while providing research data for the NYS Department of Health. HRFA is a regional program (Columbia-Greene, Dutchess, Orange & Ulster Counties) (Funded by NYSDOH)
  • Nutritional Outreach Education Program - (NOEP) offers one-on-one help applying for SNAP. We can tell if you may be eligible, help you gather documents you need, and help you with your SNAP application. You'll also get information on other programs that may help stretch your food budget. For information, go to noep@peoplesplaceuc.org

Food Assistance:

  • Making ends meet during difficult times can be easier with help from the right programs and other community resources. Cornell Cooperative Extension works with many local food assistance programs to help families, individuals and seniors find and access food resources that best meet their needs. Visit this page to find resources regarding food assistance.

Food Safety and Emergency Resources:

Food and Nutrition Education in Communities (FNEC) Table of Recipes:

For a list of great recipes and to add your own, go to https://fnec.cornell.edu/for-participants/recipe-...

Last updated May 1, 2025

Food and Nutrition

Choose MyPlate

MyPlate,  the USDA food guide tool, helps people make wise food choices within food and calorie limits. MyPlate lets us see what healthy food portions look like.

Click here to use the MyPlate tool.

Go here to find great recipes in the My Plate Kitchen! https://www.myplate.gov/myplate-kitchen

Online Groups/Blogs

Building Healthy Habits Facebook page

Our Facebook page is the great place to start if you're looking for ideas, tips, and tricks on how to lead a healthy and active lifestyle! Like our page to get notifications every time we post!

Events

See more

Seek North Kombucha

Successful entrepreneurs of Seek North - a Kingston Kombucha company - share how the Hudson Valley, including Cornell Cooperative Extension Ulster County, helped create and shape the brand. "This transition into fermentation came about somewhat serendipitously, when Philippe enrolled in the food preservation program at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County. The decision was initially borne of a desire to learn about preserving foods that he grew in his garden. However, Julian’s struggles with Lyme disease inspired Philippe to try his hand at kombucha and other kinds of fermentation. Part of Seek North’s origin story is attributed to this class in Ulster County. We're thrilled to have been a part of their journey! Read the article here.