Extension EFNEP program expanding to provide nutrition education to more Arkansans
By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Oct. 2, 2025
Fast Facts:
- EFNEP is nation’s first federal nutrition education program, started in 1969
- Program provides hands-on lessons to individuals, families with limited resources
- EFNEP focuses on improved diet and exercise, food safety and resource management
- Arkansas EFNEP program is expanding to serve more counties
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(Newsrooms: With EFNEP logo)
LITTLE ROCK — The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, offered by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service, will soon be available in more Arkansas counties, empowering families with limited resources to make healthier diet and exercise choices.
The federal program, known as EFNEP, is funded by the Division of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is managed by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
First launched by the USDA in 1969, EFNEP collectively reaches roughly 200,000 low-income adults and 450,000 low-income youth each year through 76 land-grant universities and the national Cooperative Extension System. In 2024, the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service taught 1,050 EFNEP nutrition education lessons to more than 5,500 youth and adults.
Teresa Henson, assistant professor of EFNEP for the Division of Agriculture, said the main goal of EFNEP is to “provide limited-resource families with different ways to improve their eating habits, physical activity, and stretch their food dollars for a better quality of life.”
Program expansion
In July 2025, federal funding was eliminated for the SNAP-Ed nutrition education program, ending the Division of Agriculture’s program after 30 years of service to Arkansans. Since then, the Division of Agriculture has been able to transition former extension SNAP-Ed staff to serve as EFNEP program assistants, who will continue to provide nutrition education across the state.
“EFNEP program assistants serve as peer educators in our Arkansas counties, teaching participants about nutrition, healthy food preparation, food safety and resource management, and physical activity to support good health for all members of their family,” said Nina Roofe, assistant vice president of family and consumer sciences for the Division of Agriculture. “The additional EFNEP program assistants will allow us to reach even more of our target audience of low-income families and youth.”
EFNEP is currently available in Ashley, Benton, Boone, Chicot, Craighead, Crittenden, Desha, Greene, Lee, Phillips, Pulaski, St. Francis, Union and Washington counties. Soon, EFNEP services will expand to Crawford, Cross, Grant, Madison and Randolph counties.
Roofe said that in addition to EFNEP’s expansion, the Division of Agriculture’s family and consumer sciences department will continue to provide “science-based education on healthy eating and lifestyle choices using the community partners and sites previously part of our SNAP-Ed program.
“We will do this through cooking schools and general nutrition education content such as ReThink Your Drink, MIND Your Diet, Mediterranean Cooking School, food preservation, budgeting, grocery shopping education and much more,” Roofe said.
Healthy lifestyles for all
Henson said EFNEP educators work with a variety of agencies and groups in their communities to deliver nutrition education, including local health departments, women’s shelters, after-school programs and probation programs. They also work with recipients of WIC, the supplemental nutrition education program for women, infants and children.
“EFNEP does a great job of teaching families how to save on their food dollars,” Henson said. “We have lessons and resources that show families how to shop wisely with their funds and make sure that they don’t run out of money by the end of the month. Our educators teach them how to stock up on staple items that can help them feed their families for several weeks.
“Some families think that you have to have a lot of money to eat healthy, but you really don’t,” Henson said. “Our educators show people how to cook nutritious meals, recipes that their families and kids can consume every day. They also teach them about the importance of food safety and how to become physically active.”
In 2024, 96 percent of adult graduates from Arkansas’ EFNEP program adopted healthier nutrition practices after completing the program, and 93 percent improved their food resource management practices.
“I learned how to prepare these foods with my kids and let them help in the kitchen as we cooked,” said a Pulaski County adult EFNEP participant. “I also didn’t have to make as many trips to the store and even had SNAP benefits roll over to the next month. Savings takes effort, but it’s worth it!”
Henson said that with the ongoing expansion of EFNEP, she hopes to see the program widely available in Arkansas.
“When I first came on board with extension, almost 24 years ago, EFNEP was almost in every county,” Henson said. “I’m hoping in the future, we can reach other counties like we did before, if we can get that capacity of funding for EFNEP.
“I’m looking forward to serving the people of Arkansas more,” she said. “For those audiences that we didn’t reach before, this gives us the opportunity to go back out there and help them.”
Contact your local county extension office to learn if EFNEP is available in your area and what other family and consumer sciences programs are available. If EFNEP is not available in your county, contact Teresa Henson at thenson@uada.edu for more information.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media Contact:
Rebekah Hall
rkhall@uada.edu
@RKHall_
501-671-2061