The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) operates in nearly 800 counties throughout the 50 states and in the territories of American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. EFNEP targets low-income youth and low-income families with young children and is designed to assist participants in acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and changed behavior necessary to achieve nutritionally sound diets; contribute to the participant's personal development; and improve the total family diet and nutritional well-being.

Adults in EFNEP programs learn to select more nutritional foods and gain skills in food production, preparation, storage, safety and sanitation. Adults also learn better methods to manage their food budgets and related resources such as Food Stamps. Youth in EFNEP programs learn skills in nutrition, food preparation, and food safety as well as fitness, substance avoidance, and other health related topics. The programs are delivered as a series of lessons taught by paraprofessionals and volunteers, many of whom are indigenous to the target population. These paraprofessionals and volunteers are trained and supervised by County Extension Home Economists.

The EFNEP Evaluation and Reporting System (ERS), introduced in 1993, is an automated system developed to capture the positive impacts of EFNEP. The database stores information about program participants, their family structure, and their dietary preferences. The system collects data about adults, youth and youth group members, and staff assignments and hours. Data from the system is extracted and prepared as separate files by the EFNEP program staff at NIFA. These files are then provided to REEIS so that existing reports on the REEIS website may be updated with the new information.

Subject Areas

ERS collects information on:

  • Adult Participants - including information on sex, age, race, income, residence, and aid from public assistance.
  • Youth Participants - including information on sex, age, race, residence, and youth group.
  • Nutrition - including the actual nutrient content of a participant's diet and comparisons of that diet to national dietary recommendations.
  • Behavior Checklists - including information on a participant's behavioral changes in the areas of nutrition practices, food handling and safety, and food resource management.
  • Perinatal Projects - including information on births and infant feeding for pregnant and nursing females.
  • Interagency Cooperation - including information on two major food assistance programs, coalitions and agreements, and sources and amounts of outside funding.
  • Staff - including information on the professionals, paraprofessionals, and volunteers who deliver and manage the programs.

Data Collection

ERS consists of separate software subsystems for the Unit, State, and Federal levels.  The ERS Unit level is used by the counties to accumulate information about individuals in their programs.  Summary data are reported to the SRS which is the State level subsystem.  The SRS accumulates data from the various Units and prepares State level summary reports.  The State level summaries are then exported to the FRS which exists at the Federal level.  The FRS creates the nationwide reports which are used at NIFA for assessing the overall benefits and impacts of the program.

System Management and Contact Information

Contact the REEIS Data Manager for any questions or issues regarding EFNEP data.

Attn: Bill Bristow
Information Systems Technology Management (ISTM)
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Mail Stop 2292
Washington, D.C.

Phone: 202-690-1956
FAX:    202-690-1290

E-mail: Helen.Chipman@usda.gov

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