The new jersey expanded food and nutrition education program (NJ efnep) aims to enhance diet quality, physical activity, food resource management, food safety, and food security for limited-resource…

The new jersey expanded food and nutrition education program (NJ efnep) aims to enhance diet quality, physical activity, food resource management, food safety, and food security for limited-resource families and youth in NJ. In FFY 2024, NJ efnep reached 483 adults and 1,783 youth. Food insecurity is a significant issue in NJ impacting a large segment of the population . To improve food security among efnep participants, paraprofessionals will utilize evidence -based resource management curricula, connect participants with programs designed to enhance their food security, and provide ongoing training for staff to refine their referral skills and stay updated on new referral opportunities within their communities to better serve participants. Additionally, one of the primary nutritional challenges our adult audience faces is low vegetable intake. Many participants receive vegetables from food pantries that are unfamiliar to their cultural diets, resulting in a lack of familiarity with how to cook them, and they are not consumed. To tackle this, paraprofessionals will educate participants about the importance of increasing vegetable intake. They will incorporate food demonstrations and taste-testing sessions using recipes that feature a variety of vegetables available from food pantries. Additionally, participants will be directed to visit the efnep.rutgers.EDU website for quick, easy, and affordable recipes. Among the numerous challenges faced by adult populations in NJ, a significant one is lack of physical activity. Many residents with low incomes reside in unsafe neighborhoods and lack the financial resources to afford GYM memberships. To boost the number of adults enhancing their physical activity habits, paraprofessionals will be instructed to provide a physical activity segment at 50% of their total number of lessons, participants will be encouraged to go to the efnep.rutgers.EDU website where they can access free physical activity videos to continue their physical activity routine with their families in the comfort of their home. Paraprofessionals will be trained to identify locations offering low-cost or free physical activity programs and will refer participants to these resources. Maintaining continued adult participation in our program continues to be a challenge. Often, participants are unable to attend classes due to weather conditions, lack of transportation, or childcare issues, leading to low completion rates. To improve adult graduation rates, paraprofessional staff will offer a series of both synchronous and asynchronous educational series using interactive, live virtual sessions delivered through various technological platforms. While NJ efnep primarily focuses on adults, who are mainly responsible for their families' dietary choices, we also target high school-aged teens and young adults (ages 18-25 without children) as they make many of their own decisions. When working with adolescents, IT is crucial to address their high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. To reduce the number of adolescents regularly consuming these drinks, paraprofessionals will deliver engaging, hands-on, and fun lessons tailored to this behavior. Furthermore, paraprofessionals will receive training on a new teen curriculum to achieve this objective. Regarding collaborations within NJ, professional-level staff attend meetings to network with key state entities and enhance our program's visibility. They are currently partnering with various county agencies to bolster program visibility and advance policy systems and environmental change (PSE) initiatives aimed at improving food access, physical activity, and dietary quality among low-income families and youth. To broaden efnep outreach and foster a diverse and inclusive community, NJ efnep will continue delivering programs to disabled populations including veterans and individuals returning from incarceration who meet efnep's criteria.