Efnep is a vital community-based nutrition education program that was initiated nationally in 1969 as one of USDA's responses to hunger in the united states

Its primary goal is to help families with limited income to improve the nutritional quality of their diets. The urban expanded food and nutrition education program targets hispanic/latino expecting mothers and hispanic/latino mothers with children ages 0 to 5 and hispanic/latino youth ages 6 to 14 years. This audience is rapidly growing and needs nutrition education training as evidenced by research findings and health reports. Alabama's 2019 population estimate was 4 ,903,185, with 198,824 (4.4%) being hispanic or latino. Alabama's latino population is predominately mexican. There are also large numbers of guatemalans, puerto ricans, colombians, brazilians, salvadorians, and panamanians. The latino population is young. The median age of alabama's latino population is 24.9 years compared to 35.8 years for alabamians and 25.8 years for the national latino population (alabama department of public health, 2018). According to the national center for children in poverty (NCCP), 45% of hispanic children in alabama live in poor families (2018). Health concerns for the hispanic/latino population include lack of insurance, diabetes, overweight/obesity, cancer, and stroke. With the steady rise in the hispanic/latino population within alabama, IT is important to provide nutritional education that can provide them with the necessary information and resources to live a healthy life. According to the CDC ,8.1% of hispanics/latinos in alabama reported being told they have diabetes, and another 2.6% reported pre-or borderline diabetes. Hispanics/latinos in alabama obesity 30.8% compared to the US hispanic at 34.2%. (alabama public health,2018). Alabama a & M university UR BAN expanded food and nutrition education program (UEFNEP) finds the need to address these chronic diseases in north alabama with nutrition education to have an impact on behavior changes for a healthy life.