The description and purpose of the federal award is to provide efnep programming in wyoming

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the University of Wyoming $278,896 under the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (CFDA 10.514) on October 1, 2025.

The award funds nutrition education programming in Wyoming serving low-income adults and youth. Wyoming EFNEP delivers a series of lessons promoting healthy behaviors, improved diet quality, and increased physical activity consistent with current dietary guidelines and MyPlate. The lessons incorporate food resource management, food safety, and food security. The program targets low-income families with emphasis on parents and caregivers with primary responsibility for feeding young children, pregnant teens, youth, and children. Primary recruitment occurs through the state Department of Family Services offices, WIC offices, counseling and rehabilitation centers, food banks, low-income housing community centers, grocery stores in low-income areas, low-income schools, and other community agencies serving limited-resource audiences. Eligible participants include limited-income individuals with children and pregnant women and teens who shop for and prepare food for children on a regular basis, as well as families enrolled in other federal nutrition programs such as WIC, SNAP, TANF, free or reduced-price school meals, and Head Start.

The award period runs October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2030, with performance in Wyoming. The University of Wyoming operates as a 1862 land-grant institution eligible under the program.

Wyoming efnep promotes healthy behaviors for eligible adults and youth resulting in better nutrition, increased physical activity and improved overall health. Wyoming efnep focuses on improving diet quality and physical activity consistent with current dietary guidelines for americans and myplate using a series of lessons. The lessons also incorporate food resource management, food safety and food security. Through the series of lessons, wyoming efnep empowers the low-income family and individual to improve their health and well-being. Wyoming efnep partners with other agencies to increase referrals across programs, organizations, and communities to address participant needs with the goal of increasing coordination, cooperation and collaboration to accomplish state and local priorities. Efnep's target adult audience is defined as low-income families with an emphasis on parents and other adult caregivers with primary responsibility for feeding young children; pregnant teens, youth, and children. Primary recruitment locations in wyoming include the local department of family services offices, WIC offices, counseling and rehabilitation centers, food banks, low-income housing community centers, grocery stores in low-income areas, low-income schools, and other community agencies serving limited resource audiences. Referrals from these and other agencies that serve the target audience are also encouraged. The program is open to limited-income (established by federal poverty guidelines) individuals with children, and pregnant women and teens who shop for and prepare food for children on a regular basis. A family enrolled in any other federal nutrition program is also eligible for efnep (for example, those using WIC, snap, tanf, free/reduced school meals, headstart, etc.). Youth audiences include limited resource children of eligible adult participants, or students in title I (low income) schools that have 50% or greater free and reduced lunch participation. The target audience is reached through recruitment and demonstrations at agencies serving low-income individuals and families. Recruiting and demonstrating lessons at sites and locations that the target audience frequents is a means of both reaching potential participants who are eligible for the program, and also engaging them in a way that helps to build rapport to increase chances of full participation and graduation. Recruitment's and demonstrations at partnering agencies also assist in building partnerships and collaborations in order to better reach low-income families in the communities served by efnep. Wyoming efnep serves areas with highest need based on county census poverty rates. The core issues addressed by efnep programming are diet quality, physical activity, food resource management, food safety, and food security. Priority issues to be addressed by wyoming efnep in the five-year plan (FFY2025-2029) are: 1) increase outreach and program delivery to emerging adults without children (ages 19-29) with limited resources. 2) increase food resource management in emerging adults without children (age 19-29). 3) increase vegetable consumption in adults. 4) increase physical activity in all youth. 5) increase number of entry/exit surveys completed by online graduates. Outcome data is reported annually through the efnep national webneers system.