The expanded food and nutrition education program (EFNEP) empowers individuals, families and youth with limited resources to acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and behavior changes necessary to…

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the Division of Agriculture of the University of Arkansas $1,317,715 under the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (CFDA 10.514) on October 1, 2025, for a five-year period ending September 30, 2030.

The award funds nutrition education delivery to low-income individuals, families, and youth in Arkansas who are eligible for SNAP, WIC, Head Start, or school breakfast and lunch programs. Arkansas EFNEP delivers holistic nutrition education across four core areas: diet quality and physical activity, food resource management, food safety, and food security. Adult participants receive instruction in small groups or individually from trained EFNEP educators. Youth programming uses two curricula: Kids in the Kitchen (developed by Missouri Cooperative Extension), a six-lesson series offered at three age levels (ages 6–9, 10–12, and 13–15) based on USDA's MyPlate guidance, and Teen Cuisine (developed by Virginia Cooperative Extension), a six-lesson curriculum for youth in grades 6–12 covering nutrition, food safety, food preparation, and physical activity.

The funding is administered through the University of Arkansas's Division of Agriculture, a land-grant institution with extension presence across all 75 Arkansas counties. Performance occurs in Arkansas.

The expanded food and nutrition education program (EFNEP) empowers individuals, families and youth with limited resources to acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and behavior changes necessary to maintain nutritionally sound diets and increase physical activity. Arkansas EFNEP uses a holistic nutrition education approach. Participants will experience improvements in four core areas: diet quality and physical activity, food resource management, food safety, and food security. People who are eligible to participate in EFNEP include individuals and families who are eligible for assistance by programs such as supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP), special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC), head start or their children who participate in the school breakfast/lunch programs. Adult EFNEP participants are taught in small groups or individually by trained EFNEP educators. The EFNEP youth program focuses on providing food and nutrition education to contribute to personal development. For youth programming, arkansas EFNEP uses the kids in the kitchen (KIK) curriculum developed by missouri cooperative extension and based on USDA's myplate, and teen cuisine, a curriculum developed by virginia cooperative extension. The KIK curriculum is a series of six lessons in three age levels. Level a (ages 6- 9); level B (ages 10-12); and level C (ages 13-15). For the youth physical activity component, arkansas EFNEP uses the physical activity component of KIK. Teen cuisine is available for use with youth in grades 6-12. This curriculum was adopted based on requests from EFNEP educators and school partners who asked for another option to use with this age/grade range. Teen cuisine consists of 6 lessons with each lesson offering a variety of activities covering nutrition, food safety, food preparation, and physical activity. The goals of the curriculum are to apply myplate guidance, learn how to identify nutrient dense foods and beverages, read and follow a recipe, prepare food safely, use food labels to choose healthier foods and snacks, and understand the importance of physical activity and include IT in everyday life. With adult participants, arkansas EFNEP utilizes the eating smart being active (ESBA) curriculum developed by colorado state university. ESBA is an evidenced-based, healthy eating and active living curriculum. IT is designed for paraprofessional educators to use when teaching families with young children to learn healthy lifestyle choices. The curriculum consists of a series of nine core lessons, each 60- 90 minutes long, designed to be taught in sequential order and is based on the latest research findings from the U.S. Dietary guidelines for americans. The curriculum addresses all the core focus areas including physical activity, diet quality, food resource management, food security, and food safety. The curriculum is available in both english and spanish and is delivered in both languages in arkansas. The adult physical activity component utilizes the physical activity pyramid built into the ESBA curriculum. In addition, arkansas EFNEP will pilot the north carolina curriculum titled EFNEP families eat smart move more for adult participants. This curriculum consists of nine core lessons that align with the concepts presented in colorado state university's eating smart being active curriculum. IT addresses all EFNEP core areas: food resource management, food security, diet quality, food safety, and physical activity. The curriculum is available in both english and spanish and is delivered by trained paraprofessionals. For the pilot, three designated educators from the delta, ozark, and ouachita regions will implement the curriculum with one of their adult groups. Upon completion of the pilot, feedback will be collected from both paraprofessionals and participants to inform future adoption as an additional program curriculum.