Nutrition
EFNEP
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) administers the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP); land-grant universities conduct the program in all states, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. EFNEP provides practical, hands-on nutrition education that can change behavior. By working with limited resource families, EFNEP addresses health disparities associated with some of our most pervasive societal challenges – hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and obesity. EFNEP remains as relevant and essential today as it was in the 1960s when the program began.
EFNEP Mission Statement
EFNEP is designed to assist limited-resource audiences in acquiring the nutritional knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior changes necessary for healthier diets and nutritional well-being, while contributing to their individual and family development.
In Mississippi, EFNEP is administered by Mississippi State University Extension and delivered by Nutrition Educators using evidence-based nutrition education to assist limited resource Mississippians make better nutrition decisions.
Program Objectives
- Improved diets and nutritional welfare for the total family.
- Increased knowledge of the essentials of human nutrition.
- Increased ability to select and buy food that satisfies nutritional needs.
- Improved practices in food production, preparation, storage, safety, and sanitation.
- Increased ability to manage food budgets and related resources.
- Improved physical activity behaviors.
Operation
Nutrition Educators recruit participants from EFNEP’s intended audience:
- Families with young children (parents and other caregivers with primary responsibility for feeding young children); and
- Youth/children (grade range – kindergarten through 12th grade).
- Emerging adults with limited financial resources would also be appropriate for EFNEP, as they may become parents in the near future.
EFNEP contributes to the health of the nation by helping resource limited families improve their nutritional well-being. This is accomplished by a series of hands-on, interactive lessons for both adults and youth. EFNEP contributes to the reduction of nutrition-related chronic diseases typically associated with those who have limited financial resources.
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This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.