Nutrition plays a vital role to the well being of the people living in american samoa

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded American Samoa Community College $103,886 under the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (CFDA 10.514) on October 1, 2025, for a period of performance through September 30, 2030.

EFNEP funds nutrition education disseminated to low-income families and youth. The program operates through 1862 and 1890 land-grant universities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and six U.S. territories including American Samoa, combining hands-on learning, applied science, and program data to support participants toward self-sufficiency, nutritional health, and well-being. This award addresses documented nutrition and food safety challenges in American Samoa, including high prevalence of diet-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity among low-income children and adolescents, elevated rates of foodborne illness between 2020 and 2022, and persistent gaps in food handling hygiene and nutritional awareness across the territory. American Samoa Community College, the sole postsecondary education provider in the territory and a 1862 land-grant institution, delivers nutrition education programming targeting low-income families and youth across the territory. This is a formula grant to an eligible land-grant institution with a project period not to exceed five years.

Balanced nutrition contributes to good health, which enables people to be active and productive citizens. Despite the many gains to improve the health of our population recently, the rise of nutrition related diseases continues to threaten the people of american samoa. In american samoa nutrition problems appear to be due to the over consumption of the wrong types of foods, adversely affecting the health of both children and adults. Diets in american samoa are usually high in meats, starches, sugars and fats and very low in vegetables, fruits and dairy products. Food safety issues include things such as improper food handling, infrequent hand washing, and not adhering to standard food and water storage precautionary measures. A public health official was quoted by the local newspaper in a 2023 article, the constant reminder to the owners [of restaurants and fast food establishments] of the need for the workers and the kitchen to be hygienic, is like singing to the choir. If IT's not one thing IT's another. She said that IT is surprising that not many people have reported food poisoning to DOH given the unsanitary conditions of popular restaurants. 'or maybe they lack the understanding of what food poisoning is all about. Between 2020 - 2022, there were 774 documented cases of unspecified diarrhea and 148 documented cases of food poisoning in the territory. In contrast, there were 152 documented cases of food poisoning between 2012 2019 many cases of foodborne illnesses are self treated and are not reported. As a result of obesity, poor diet, and a lack of physical activity, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes has increased dramatically over the past three decades and now affects the population. The prevalence of obesity among low income population samoan children and adolescents on the island is higher than in the U.S. Being about 34% and 17 % respectively. Healthful behaviors are difficult to follow for multiple reasons, some of which include: fast food restaurant's pervasive advertising, small neighborhood grocery stores have limited availability of healthy choices, public parks are conducive to informal physical activities, and the environment is automobile centric. We plan to introduce proven and culturally acceptable dietary and physical activities, promote affordable, nutritious, and sustainable locally grown local fruits and seasonal vegetables with recipes, and consumption of water. Additionally, we will promote locally caught seafood, while discouraging the overconsumption of imported red meat and sugar sweetened beverages, providing guidance so that individuals and families can make informed, science based decisions about their health and well being. Food safety is a timely issue. While many people in american samoa take food safety for granted, the incidence of foodborne illnesses have increased over the last few years. Consequently, our goals include increasing the food safety knowledge of food handlers adopting safe food handling practices, which will hopefully decrease the probability of foodborne illnesses in high risk population groups. These islands are sparsely populated many villages have only a few hundred people. Based on 2020 census data, 50.7% of families in american samoa were living in poverty-the highest poverty rate of any state or territory in the united states. American samoa's population was 49,710 in 2020-a 10.5% decline from the 2010 census. Elements of the environment: due to american samoa's geographical location and how we rely on the importation of goods to meet many of our daily needs, efnep plays a vital role in educating the low income population because dramatic changes in the weather, plant diseases, and other unforeseeable events have the potential to negatively affect our crops and our reliance on produce.