Community Nutrition and Health at UC ANR is a statewide network of researchers and educators promoting healthy and equitable communities for all Californians. Our shared goal is to co-create public education and partner training programming to advance community health across California. We collaborate with local organizations and community leaders who share our goals to advance community health and work to create changes across many areas including individual behavior change, leadership capacity building, organizational policy change, informing public policy, and affecting systems or environmental change such workflows or best practices within an institution. As a result of this work, our vision is for all Californians to have access to live a healthy life, free from chronic disease.
As a core Community Nutrition and Health statewide program, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) provides community education classes for income-eligible youth and adults which promote nutrition and physical activity as a means of maintaining a healthy lifestyle free from chronic disease. By focusing on improving diet quality, increasing physical activity, assuring safe food-handling practices, and strengthening food resource management skills, EFNEP supports families with children to make meaningful healthy lifestyle changes. EFNEP also partners with community stakeholders to make changes to the surrounding community context known as "policy, system, and environmental change efforts" which result in deeper, long-term positive impact for even more youth and families. EFNEP is federally funded by the United States Department of Agriculture as part of a long-standing network of community-based nutrition education programs across the country.
As a core Community Nutrition and Health statewide program, the CalFresh Healthy Living, University of California program (CFHL, UC) offers comprehensive evidence-based nutrition and physical activity education, aligned with changes to the surrounding community context known as "policy, system, and environmental change efforts" in early childhood centers, schools and community environments. Services are provided in 34 counties with 1,600 volunteers known as "extenders" (trained teachers, afterschool staff, community members). The majority of CFHL, UC participants are preschool and school aged youth and their families. The CFHL, UC program also works with SNAP-Ed eligible adults, seniors, and other priority populations. By aligning community education with policy, systems and environmental change strategies, CFHL, UC creates long-lasting community impact. CFHL, UC is federally funded by the United States Department of Food and Agriculture as part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program's Education network (SNAP-Ed) across the country.