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The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is a program offered through Cooperative Extension that helps parents feed their children healthier meals and snacks, save money on food, and reduce the risk of food-borne illness. Nutrition education is also provided to youth ages 4-18. EFNEP is funded by USDA and offered in every state and US territory. In Georgia, EFNEP is offered through The University of Georgia and Fort Valley State University. The impact of the program is significant in improving health and decreasing potential health care costs.
“Food Talk” is the name of the program for parents in Georgia. Participants can enroll free of charge and receive a certificate when the series of 6 sessions (about 1 hour each) is completed. Sessions are usually offered in cooperation with agencies that work with parents with limited financial resources. Georgia has 159 counties, but due to funding limitations, “Food Talk” is only offered in about 15% of these counties. For more information on EFNEP’s “Food Talk” program, contact your EFNEP County Extension Agent.
EFNEP also offers nutrition education programs for youth ages 4-18. In 2011, 27,838 youth in Georgia participated in EFNEP nutrition education programs, an increase of 4,480 over 2010.
- “Healthy Georgia Kids” is a program for 4-5 year old children and is offered to HeadStart, PreK programs, and preschools serving children from families with limited financial resources. “Healthy Georgia Kids,” is offered only in counties where we offer the EFNEP “Food Talk” program for parents. For more information on “Healthy Georgia Kids,” contact your EFNEP County Extension Agent.
- 4-H Nutrition & Healthy Lifestyles is offered as part of the EFNEP Childhood Overweight Prevention Project (COPP). This program teaches the importance of eating a balanced diet, including a variety of foods from MyPyramid, right-sized portions, increasing fruits and vegetables in the diet, increasing physical activity, and decreasing the consumption of high-sugar beverages.
The 4-H Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyles program had significant impact in its first year. Evaluations showed that:
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35% of 14,165 youth were more likely to try to eat foods from all food groups every day.
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49% of 14,557 youth gained knowledge on the nutrient density of foods.
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35% of 13,866 youth have a greater understanding of how to eat a healthy diet.
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39% of 14,407 youth gained knowledge on how to read food labels to compare fat and calories.
All of these behaviors are important in decreasing childhood overweight, one of the most pressing child health issues facing Georgia and the nation. 4-H Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyles is offered in about 50% of Georgia’s counties. For more information on EFNEP programs for youth in your county, please contact your local County Extension office.
More impact information from this program and a news article for COPP are available by clicking on the links below.
For more information on EFNEP at The University of Georgia, please contact:
Dr. Gail M. Hanula, RD, LD
Department of Foods and Nutrition
Extension Family & Consumer Sciences
The University of Georgia
209 Hoke Smith Annex
Athens, GA 30602
ghanula@uga.edu
706.542.8866 EFNEP State Office
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