Extension Opportunities in Food Access & Equity, Part 1

(Recorded) 2/13/18)

Speakers: Dan Remley, MSPH, PhD, The Ohio State University Extension; Amber Canto, MPH, RDN, University of Wisconsin-Extension; Alexandra Bush-Kaufman, MPH, RDN, CD, Washington State University-Extension & Bethany Hendrickson, Leah's Pantry

Food access and equity are increasingly relevant when nutrition professionals consider improving the quality of people’s diets. Many nutrition educators in Extension work within two of the USDA low-income nutrition education and obesity prevention programs, SNAP-Ed and EFNEP. The role of the built environment in the diets of Americans is more understood, and it is widely accepted that the places where people live, learn, work, play, and shop affect their food and physical activity behaviors. It is essential that participants of SNAP-Ed and EFNEP have access to nutritious foods so that direct education efforts by Extension educators are successful in improving health behaviors. The food pantry is a common setting for direct education interventions and is growing as a place for policy, systems, and environmental change. Environmental interventions within the food pantry setting improve healthy food access and equity to low-income clients that are served by SNAP-Ed and EFNEP through Extension programming. As such, the role of Extension educators has widened in the types of technical assistance and support Extension educators now provide to food pantry agencies and their clients.