What is EFNEP?

EFNEP is a nutrition education program that helps limited resource families develop skills needed to improve their diets.

EFNEP is a program of the Cooperative Extension System at land grant universities in every state and U.S. Territory. Since 1969 EFNEP has worked with homemakers and their families, helping them stretch their food dollars and improve their nutritional well-being. EFNEP has helped many families improve their diets and given thousands of individuals a new sense of self-worth as they struggle to provide for themselves and their families on limited resources.

For 30 years, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) has helped Ohio youth and families with young children attain healthy eating and lifestyle practices. This Ohio State University Extension program delivers research-based information and education in the home, the classroom, and community group settings to help low income families in Ohio make better nutrition and health decisions. The results are strong, nurturing families; healthy, thriving children; and positive youth development.

EFNEP is a voluntary program that provides food and nutrition education.

What do EFNEP participants learn?

EFNEP can help a person learn:

Basic Nutrition

• Healthy eating habits
• Nutrients the body needs, their functions and food sources
• Healthy snacks for children
• Eating for two
• Nutrition facts for the family

Resource Management

• How to stretch the available food dollars and food stamps
• Menu planning
• Use of commodity foods
• Shopping techniques

Food Preparation

• Healthy cooking methods
• Food preservation
• Food safety and storage
• Weight reduction
• Low-cost recipes

4-H EFNEP teaches youth about:

Through an experiential learning process, adult program participants learn how to make good choices to improve the nutritional quality of the meals they serve their families. They participate in a series of 6-12 lessons based on the Food Guide Pyramid and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The hands-on, learn-by-doing approach allows the participants to gain the practical skills necessary to make positive behavior changes. They increase their ability to select and buy food that meets the nutritional needs of their families and gain new skills in food preparation, storage, safety, and sanitation. They also learn to better manage their food budgets, including the use of Food Stamps and WIC coupons.

The youth EFNEP program provides nutrition education to help children develop healthy eating patterns and skills in preparing nutritious meals and snacks. The youth EFNEP program emphasizes a variety of delivery modes for reaching youth, from traditional classroom settings and after-school programs during the school year to day camps and youth group activities during the summer. The youth curriculum emphasizes learning by experience and reflection, and is adaptable to a wide variety of educational settings.

Contacts