A Recipe for Success

September 6, 2022

Current statistics on the health problems that adults and their families face indicate the need to improve nutrition knowledge, to encourage hands-on experience with food, and practice healthful, practical cooking with fresh and affordable foods.

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is a federally funded program delivered through the Cooperative Extension Service that aims to assist limited-resource families in acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and changed behavior necessary to improve nutritional health and well-being. EFNEP provides nutrition education in four core areas: Diet Quality and Physical Activity, Food Resource Management, Food Safety, and Food Security.

In South Carolina, experienced and trained Nutrition Educators ‘follow a recipe’ and teach Eating Smart Being Active (ESBA), an evidence-based curriculum developed by Colorado State. ESBA is tailored to meet individual needs through a series of hands-on interactive lessons and delivered individually or to groups through partnerships with local community organizations. The ‘learn-by-doing’ approach allows participants to gain the practical skills necessary to make positive behavior changes to lead a healthier lifestyle.

EFNEP Nutrition Educators participate in an ESBA training led by Marlyne R. Walker, MS, RDN and practice hands-on learning by preparing a recipe for each lesson, and reviewing food safety skills.

SC EFNEP teaches SC adults cooking skills, food resource management, and behavior changes that promote a healthy lifestyle. In 2021, SC EFNEP reached 396 families, and the outcome data revealed:

• 96% improved Diet Quality
• 94% improved Food Resource Management
• 84% improved Food Safety
• 80% improved Physical Activity

Through an experiential learning process called A Recipe for Success, EFNEP participants increase their ability to select and eat healthier foods, stretch their dollars by managing food budgets, decrease foodborne illnesses, and increase physical activity.