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The Expanded Food & Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Maryland Cooperative Extension strives to educate low-income families and youth with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behavior changes necessary to maintain nutritionally sound diets and enhance personal development.

In 1993-1994 the Bureau of the Census reported that more than 507,000 people in the state of Maryland lived in poverty; 38% of these people were under the age of 18 years. In 1999 EFNEP assisted 10,668 family members plus an additional 9,141 youth; 38% of these participants had an income less than half the poverty level. After attending EFNEP 93% of adults showed improvement in one or more food resource management practices; 95% showed improvement in one or more nutrition practices and 82% showed improvement in one or more of the food safety practices.

The main objective of EFNEP is to increase the number of healthy, well-nourished individuals and families among those with low incomes. Recent reports indicate that, per $1 spent on EFNEP, $10.64* is saved on health care costs related to food-borne and chronic illnesses and low birth weight babies. This corresponds to savings of over $7.9 million in health care costs for Maryland.

EFNEP's adult students are mentored individually or in group sessions by Extension Nutrition Assistants for almost one year while youth initiatives are conducted by 4-H staff and volunteers during the summer or as year-round programs in public schools. Adult participants are taught how to choose foods wisely while staying within a budget, prenatal and postnatal nutrition including the benefits of breastfeeding, the impact of diet and exercise, how to reduce the risk of chronic diseases through dietary changes and early detection, safe food handling and preparation, and how to maintain these healthy habits throughout their lifetime.

* Applying Cost Benefit Analysis to Nutrition Education Programs: Focus on the Virginia Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program; Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, USDA, Washington, D.C., March 1999