The Expanded Food & Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is the nation’s first nutrition education program for low-income populations and is at the forefront of nutrition education efforts to reduce nutrition insecurity of low-income families and youth today.

Nutrition insecurity is a significant national health concern, especially among low-income populations that disproportionately experience poor health. Often associated with food insecurity, nutrition insecurity is characterized by poor nutrition, limited physical activity, and unsafe food practices. 

EFNEP is a federal program that operates through Land Grant universities, like the University of Guam, in every state, the District of Columbia, and the six U.S. territories. EFNEP has operated in Guam since 1981 through UOG Cooperative Extension & Outreach.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food & Agriculture, EFNEP uses education to support participants’ efforts toward self-sufficiency, nutritional health, and well-being. EFNEP combines hands-on learning, applied science, and program data to ensure program effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability.

At a time of rising food costs and new environmental and post-pandemic challenges that influence food access and availability for children and families, the Food System Resiliency for Children’s Healthy Living Program, or CHL Food Systems, is working to increase food and nutrition security and healthy diets among children in Guam. 

Over a five-year span concluding in 2026, the program will create a model of the local food supply chain. This model can then provide guidance toward decreasing food waste and improving food and nutrition security, dietary patterns, and health among children.

The grant will also guide the nutrition education programs offered to the community under UOG Cooperative Extension & Outreach. 

This U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food & Agriculture-funded project in Guam is one of five Pacific locations for the program under the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. 

The first phase of the program, known as the Children’s Healthy Living Program, resulted in a decrease in young child obesity in the Pacific region. 

Learn more about CHL at www.chl-pacific.org.

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This project is funded by Grant No. 2021-68012-35899, awarded to the University of Hawaii at Manoa from the USDA National Institute of Food & Agriculture for a five-year term ending August 2026. University of Guam Cooperative Extension & Outreach is a sub-grantee, receiving $597,267 to carry out the program in Guam, which is one of five U.S.-affiliated insular areas included in the project.

 

Throughout the Pacific region, breastfeeding has long been a cultural expression of care and connection passed down through generations. Re-embracing this tradition, both as mothers and as supporters of breastfeeding mothers, strengthens our collective identity and nurturing spirit.

Please browse the resources we've gathered, including FAQs, local listings of lactation consultants and support groups, and helpful research-based resources. 

Maternity & Breastfeeding Resources