Food and Health
Food is a daily need that all Mississippians have in common—we all need to eat, and most of us love to eat! But food choices also have a significant impact on health, from getting a breakfast boost that powers up our brains for a successful day to fighting heart disease. The MSU Extension Service strives to make sound, science-based information available and understandable to help Mississippians of all ages make positive decisions about their health and wellness.
Extension is the home of the Office of Nutrition Education, which administers two federally funded nutrition education programs—the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and the Family Nutrition Program (FNP), known nationally as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-ED).
Extension also offers the ServSafe training for personnel working in our state’s restaurants, school cafeterias, and food businesses. We also provide the TummySafe training for those working in child-care centers.
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of infirmity.” — World Health Organization, 1948
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I get it. You’re busy. It’s hard to squeeze a lot of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet.
And, if you’re like me, when you hear a recommended number of daily servings, you just want to roll your eyes.
If you’re like me, a full bottle of salad dressing often expires before I can use it all. Plus, ready- made salad dressings tend to be loaded with hidden sugar, salt, and fat.
By making your own ranch dressing, you can control the fat, the flavors, and the portions.
Tabitha McRunnels' career spent teaching young children evolved into one devoted to teaching mothers how to feed their kids nutritious meals on limited funds.
McRunnels is a nutrition educator with the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program -- or EFNEP -- in Lee County. She is part of the Mississippi State University Extension Service, which administers EFNEP through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
A nationwide community program that helps limited-resource families learn how to eat healthy and live an active life is celebrating 50 years of nutrition education to Mississippians in 2019.
The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program -- or EFNEP -- is a federal program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Time and money are both precious resources, but you don’t have to sacrifice them to eat healthier foods. Next time you find yourself standing in front of the vending machine at work or dashing into a convenience store for a snack, have a plan! (Photo by Jonathan Parrish/Cindy Callahan)
Success Stories
Start small, but start today. That’s what Scott Stokes was thinking last year when he brought out his bicycle after a 12-year hiatus and started riding again. A new Mississippi State University Extension Service program encouraged him to get back on track. (Photo by Kevin Hudson)
Winston 100 Wellness on Wheels cyclists ride through the Noxubee Wildlife Refuge as the sun rises over a cool fall 2018 morning.
See what's new in Extension: Gather for First Extension Beef-Production Workshop, the Food Factor Goes Digital, Extension Professionals Share Expertise, and Extension Offers New HappyHealthy Program.
For anyone relying on Pinterest, Facebook, or other online recipe sites to plan healthy meals, Marilyn Lunsford is encouraging those home cooks to look in a different, more local place.
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