According to the florida department of health, in the five targeted areas, approximately 24% of the residents live in poverty

In these counties, 30% of deaths are from nutrition related diseases, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes, 74% eat less than five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, and 68% are considered overweight or obese. The expanded food and nutrition education program (EFNEP) teaches nutrition and food resource management to low - income families and youth. Florida a & M university (FAMU) EFNEP assist families in acquiring knowledge, skills, attitudes, and changed behavior necessary for making healthy food choices for the whole family, prepare delicious and safe food, and make money and food stamps go further. FAMU EFNEP program delivers a series of nutrition lessons to participants in six targeted counties. Collaboration with local organizations and expansion into non traditional settings, such as faith-based organizations and community programs with focused audiences, provide a mechanism to insure the targeted audience is reached. The program targets youth and adults in underserved and low-income communities in four rural and three urban counties. The program seeks to reach at least 150 adults in the target counties, increase participation by 3-5%, and improve behaviors for adults by 2% annually. Adult participation will consist of group and individual sessions at various locations including churches, community centers, housing authorities and health departments. The program will focus on developing key community and other collaborations to assist with recruiting and maintaining adult participation. The youth audiences consist of low-income children and youth, 4-H youth of various ethnic and social economic backgrounds. The program seeks to reach at least 350 youth with expected percentage change in behavior for youth to improve by 3-5% annually for each of the next five years. Youth participation will consist of group sessions at various locations including schools, afterschool programs, churches and community centers.