The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program Improves Food Safety, Food Resource Management, Physical Activity, and Diet Quality of Southwest Georgians

Summary

The University of Georgia’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (UGA EFNEP) is working to alleviate health disparities imposed by socioeconomic status by providing low-income Georgians with the knowledge, skills, and resources to improve nutrition practices and increase physical activity. Participants in Southwest Georgia improved their diet quality, physical activity, food safety practices and food resource management skills during 2020. Peer educators in Dougherty, Houston, Colquitt and Sumter counties were led by the Houston County FACS agent to impact households representing 1,328 individuals.

Situation

Poverty and poor health are inextricably linked, and the relationship is often bidirectional. Obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic diseases are significantly more prevalent among low-income individuals relative to those of higher socioeconomic status, and families living in poverty encounter many barriers to obtaining optimal nutrition and engaging in physical activity. In 2019, Georgia ranked 40th among the 50 states based on indicators of overall health (United Health Foundations, America Health Rankings,2019). Concurrently, 14.3% of 10,617,423 Georgians are living below the poverty level and Georgia ranked 39th among the 50 states based on the percentage of children (20.5% ) of approximately 2,526,946 children) living in impoverished households (US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019; United Health Foundations, America Health Rankings, 2019).

Response

The University of Georgia’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (UGA EFNEP) is working to alleviate health disparities imposed by socioeconomic status by providing low-income Georgians with the knowledge, skills, and resources to improve nutrition practices and increase physical activity. EFNEP Program Assistants serve as peer educators and deliver a series of interactive sessions outlined in the UGA EFNEP Food Talk and Hablemos de Comida curricula to adults and youth throughout the state. Sessions address barriers to healthful lifestyles that are commonly encountered by families with limited resources, and lessons incorporate foods and physical activities that are easily accessed by low-income families in both rural and urban communities. EFNEP participants observe food demonstrations at every session and taste the recipes that are prepared free of charge. EFNEP recruitment efforts are focused on reaching parents or caregivers of young children, pregnant women, and older adolescents from vulnerable populations. Evaluation measures collected at enrollment and the time of program completion assess behavior changes related to the core areas of EFNEP – diet quality, physical activity, food safety, food resource management, and food security.

Impact

Impact on Georgians: • In 2020, UGA EFNEP directly reached 313 adults, representing households of 1,328 individuals. • 80% of adult EFNEP participants reported that they were income-eligible to receive federal assistance. • 79% of adult participants were caregivers for children under the age of 19. • EFNEP Program Assistants provided 8 sessions of the series-based Food Talk and Hablemos de Comida curricula for adult participants. • 104 adult participants attended enough sessions of the Food Talk or Hablemos de Comida series to become program graduates. These EFNEP Graduates reported improvements in behaviors related to the core areas of EFNEP: Diet Quality: 40% increased fruit intake. 45% increased vegetable intake. 28% decreased soda consumption. 49% decreased consumption of other sugar sweetened beverages. Physical Activity: 41% increased exercise by 30 minutes or more each day. 39% increased the frequency of muscle strengthening activities each week. 36% made small changes to be more active in their daily routines. Food Safety: 24% washed their hands more often before preparing food. 19% cleaned items and surfaces more frequently to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. 41% less often thawed foods at room temperature. 34% used a meat thermometer more often to measure cooking temperatures. Food Resource Management and Food Security: 31% cooked at home more often each week. 35% compared food prices more often. 40% planned meals more frequently before shopping. 36% more often checked for needed ingredients more before shopping. 30% more often used a list when shopping. • In 2020, UGA EFNEP directly reached 1,115 youth with direct education sessions. • 505 youth attended enough educational sessions to become program graduates. 95% improved diet quality. 66% increased physical activity. 65% reduced the risk of foodborne illness. • Community collaborators volunteered 193 hours of their time valued at $4,593.40 of in kind services. Direct Quotes from Georgia EFNEP Participants in Houston, Colquitt, Sumter, and Dougherty: • 60% of responses said they now plan meals • 46.40% of responses stated they tried one of the Food talk recipes at home • 38% of responses stated they tried yogurt • 34.40% stated they are less stressed about my food budget Sumter County-“Cooking is fun, yogurt is good and I can use it in different things. I exercise, read food labels & ingridients, and eat fruit & vegetables daily” Houston County-“I check for salt and sugar additives in food and cans” Colquitt County-“I learned percent values and cost per serving size” Dougherty County-“ I learned to prepare healthy meals”

State Issue

Health & Wellness

Details

• Year: 2020
• Geographic Scope: Multi-County
• County: Houston
• Location: College Station, Athens
• Program Areas:
  • Family and Consumer Sciences

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