Educating individuals about healthy eating and using food resources wisely is critical to addressing obesity and chronic disease among people in Delaware's low-income populations.

According to the United States Census Bureau (2018), the poverty rate in Delaware is 12.5 percent, a figure that includes 13.7 percent of families with children under 18 and 31 percent of families with both a female head of a household and children under 18. Statewide, the average SNAP household income is $28,258 and 36.6 percent of SNAP families live below the poverty line. As a result, 61,275 households, representing 125,239 Delawareans, received SNAP benefits in 2019. (United States Department of Agriculture - USDA).

At the same time, Delaware's adult obesity rate currently sits at 33.5 percent, with the eighteenth highest adult obesity rate in the nation and the sixteenth highest youth rate for ages 10 to 17.

RESPONSE

To address these concerns, UD Cooperative Extension offers the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), an educational opportunity that boasts a minimum of 6 hours of interactive, hands-on education. The program focuses on developing participants' skills to make healthy food choices based on their budget, use their resources wisely, handle food safely and participate in physical activity each day. These tools help improve a family's self-efficacy in choosing and preparing healthier food options.

IMPACT

In the fiscal year 2021, 212 Delawareans participated in EFNEP. As a result…

91% improved one or more food resource management skills, including
- planning meals in advance (42%),
- comparing prices when shopping (37%),
- using a grocery list (27%), and
- cooking dinner at home (34%).
65% showed improvement in one or more food safety practices.
33% increased fruit intake.
40% increased vegetable intake, including
- 40% eating dark green vegetables more often each week.
60% of participants showed improvement in one or more physical activity behaviors:
- 40% increasing the number of days they exercised at least 30 minutes a day, and
- 42% making small changes to be active more often.

RECOGNITION

This program is funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

PUBLIC VALUE STATEMENT

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program improves the health and wellbeing of limited income adults throughout Delaware by introducing them to nutritious foods, improving their food safety practices, increasing their physical activity, and increasing their overall knowledge surrounding healthy eating.