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The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) assists limited-resource families in improving their nutrition, health, and economic status. EFNEP is an integral part of the Extension Service in selected Mississippi counties through Mississippi State University in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This nutrition education program, funded by the U.S. Congress since 1968, employs paraprofessional nutrition educators under the supervision of Extension County Directors and Nutrition and Food Safety Area Agents to teach homemakers individually or in small groups. The youth phase of EFNEP provides classroom based nutrition and health teaching to elementary school children and their teachers.

Promoting sound nutrition and health principles to limited resource families through education is the primary goal of EFNEP. Unlike welfare and food assistance programs, EFNEP focuses on nutrition and health related knowledge and skills. Rather than providing food or money to these families, EFNEP concentrates on providing them with the tools to use their resources wisely to provide adequate nutrition and to promote good health. Children involved in this program receive activity based learning experiences to educate them in good health and nutrition practices that will enable them to make wise choices themselves and to influence the habits and practices of their parents.

Limited resource families with young children are the target audience of EFNEP. Many of these families also participate in other government programs such as food stamps, WIC, Head Start, and commodity foods programs. In 2002, EFNEP was conducted in 38 Mississippi counties (22 counties had the adult program and 38 counties had the youth program, with 22 counties conducting both programs). Approximately 20,000 individual limited resource family members were touched by EFNEP. Sixty-six nutrition educators who are indigenous to the community in which they work are employed to provide learning experiences for enrolled EFNEP participants and their families. More than 2100 volunteers were enrolled to extend the outreach efforts of this program.

For several years, MAKING HEALTHY CHOICES was the curriculum used with preschool and adult audiences. Beginning fall 2002, a new curriculum for older youth was introduced. PROFESSOR POPCORN is the curriculum used primarily with third grade students. The curriculum uses innovative ways to help children develop into healthy adults by gaining an interest in eating healthy foods and adopting fitness as a part of their lifestyle.

Other Information

EFNEP Staff
EFNEP National Website
Nutrition.gov
CSREES Nutrition Program
North Central Region EFNEP

EFNEP in other states
Alabama
Georgia
Kentucky
Missouri
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Texas
Other State EFNEP sites