EFNEP Adult Nutrition Education

Who We Are

EFNEP's Mission: To assist low-income youth and families with young children to acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes, and changed behavior necessary to choose nutritionally sound diets and to contribute to their personal development and the improvement of total family diet and nutritional welfare.

For more information about the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program click here.

What We Do

Nutrition educators empower participants to adopt healthy lifestyle practices. The goals include providing information about food choices for healthy living and reduced risk for chronic diseases, safe food handling, storage and preparation, and making the most of resources to feed the family.
Lessons are learner-centered with activities for practicing newly learned healthy living skills and physical activities. These goals are attained through a series of lessons conducted in small groups.

Target Audience: Families with children under 18 years. Participants should be responsible for planning and preparing family meals.

Eligibility: Participants must satisfy one of the following:

• Receive or be eligible to receive federal food assistance.
• Have a monthly household cash income that is at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level.
• Be a pregnant teen or foster youth in transition, regardless of income or age.

EFNEP Classes

EFNEP Adult lessons are taught using the Eating Smart ⋅ Being Active curriculum. Curriculum content is based on the latest research findings from the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate. The curriculum consists of 9 core lessons that each last 60-90 minutes and also includes 2 optional supplemental lessons targeted at pregnant women and new mothers. Each lesson comes with a lesson enhancement and a tool designed to help participants adopt healthy behaviors! 

Lesson Titles and Focus

• Welcome to Eating Smart • Being Active (overview of lesson series; relationship building between educator and participants)
• Get Moving! (physical activity is part of a healthy lifestyle)
• Plan, Shop, $ave (how to stretch your food dollars)
• Fruits & Veggies: Half Your Plate (how to increase amount and variety of fruits and vegetables)
• Make Half Your Grains Whole (identify whole grain foods and why whole grains are beneficial)
• Build Strong Bones (calcium rich foods and weight bearing activity help build strong bones)
• Go Lean with Protein (choosing lean sources of protein and how to keep food safe)
• Make a Change (choosing foods low in fat, sugar, and salt)
• Celebrate! Eat Smart and Be Active (review of key concepts, celebrate what we’ve learned and how to involve family in good food choices)

EFNEP Impact

California EFNEP is making a positive impact in the lives of low-income families. Participants are making positive changes towards healthy living. They also report an increased knowledge of how to make healthy food and exercise choices with a limited budget.

For more information on EFNEP's impact click here.