EFNEP Overview

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is the nation’s first Federal nutrition education program for historically underserved populations. Initiated in 1969, EFNEP operates in nearly 800 counties, through the 1862 and 1890 Land-Grant Universities (LGUs) in every state, the District of Columbia, and the six U.S. territories – American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA/NIFA), EFNEP uses education to support participants’ efforts toward self-sufficiency, nutritional health, and well-being. EFNEP combines hands-on learning, applied science, and program data to ensure program effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability. EFNEP is delivered through Cooperative Extension as a series of lessons taught by paraprofessionals and volunteers, many of whom are indigenous to the target population.

Objectives and Core Areas

The objectives of EFNEP are to assist low-income families and youth in acquiring knowledge, skills, attitudes, and changed behaviors necessary for nutritionally sound diets and to contribute to their personal development and improvement of the total family diet and nutritional well-being. Individual and family improvements are seen for four core areas:

• Diet quality and physical activity
• Food resource management
• Food safety
• Food security

Data Collection

Program data have been collected for most of EFNEP’s history. An automated data collection system was introduced in 1993. Since October 2012, EFNEP has used the Web-Based Nutrition Education, Evaluation, and Reporting System (WebNEERS) to guide planning, manage programming, perform diagnostic assessments, and export summary data for state/territory and national assessment. University data are available through USDA's Research, Education and Economics Information System (REEIS). Data collected prior to 1999 are not available electronically.

System Description

WebNEERS is a secure, web-based system designed, hosted, and maintained by Clemson University. WebNEERS applies a social ecological framework and incorporates USDA food and nutrient data bases, U.S. Poverty Guidelines, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans into its data collection, evaluation, and reporting structure. It functions on three levels: Region (local); Institute (land-grant universities in each state); and Federal (USDA/NIFA).

• Region: Local staff enter adult and youth demographics, food recalls (adults only), and behavior questionnaires, along with staff demographics and hours of employment. Personally identifiable information (PII) is only available at this level as a program management feature. PII does not aggregate to other levels and is not shared publicly. Program participants are able to see their own data, including progress achieved through EFNEP participation. Qualitative impact stories can also be entered at this level.
• Institute: Universities are able to define operating parameters, collect aggregated local data, and manage and report on the program. Universities also create and manage 5-Year Plans/Annual Updates and Annual Budgets.
• Federal: NIFA is able to collect, manage, and report aggregated state program data.

Contact Information

E-mail: Helen.Chipman@usda.gov