Extension has agents involved in both the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and the Alaska Nutrition Education Program (ANEP).

Nutrition assistants can provide in-home and group nutrition education classes for low-income families.

Please call 907-745-3677 for more information.

The Alaska Nutrition Education Program (ANEP) is a federal/state partnership that supports nutrition education for persons eligible for SNAP benefits or food stamps. ANEP is part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Education Program Education (SNAP-Ed). It is funded by the USDA through Alaska Department of Health & Social Services, Food Stamp Program. The University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service serves as the implementing agency and provides support for the nutrition educators whose positions are funded through the grant.

The mission of ANEP is to provide educational programs to people eligible for food stamps in order to equip them with the information needed to make healthy food choices within a limited budget. Our program teaches people skills and strategies on how to make healthy eating affordable. The targeted audiences are individuals and families who qualify for food stamps, although receiving food stamps is not a requirement.

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Program, or EFNEP, is a program that assists low-income families and youth to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors necessary to select nutritionally sound diets.

The program promotes:

•     Improved diets and nutritional welfare for the whole family
•     Increased nutrition knowledge
•     Improved practices in food preparation, storage and safety
•     Increased ability to manage food budgets
•     Optimal use of related resources such as SNAP (food stamp) and WIC programs

EFNEP reaches out to low-income adults who are responsible for planning and preparing the family's food, especially expectant mothers and those with young children. The program also addresses the nutritional needs of youth through the K-12 classroom setting and extracurricular programs.

Program delivery is through Cooperative Extension Service paraprofessionals teaching in a variety of settings, which can include lessons at home, correspondence and group settings. Participants are recruited and referred by word of mouth, flyers and inter-agency cooperation.