Washington County, VA Family Nutrition Program

The Family Nutrition Program’s mission is to teach limited-resource families and youth how to make healthier food choices and become better managers of available food resources for optimal health and growth. Our programs focus on basic nutrition, physical activity, safe food handling, and thrifty food shopping. FNP offers programming across the state. Contact your local Program Assistant to find programs in your area: http://www.fcs.ext.vt.edu/fnh/fnp/program-assistants-map.html

The Family Nutrition Program is offered through Virginia Cooperative Extension, an educational outreach partnership between Virginia Tech and Virginia State University. Learn more about Virginia Cooperative Extension by visiting their website: www.ext.vt.edu

Our funding comes from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to offer the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and from the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to offer Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) in Virginia.

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) was founded in 1974 to teach limited-resource families with young children the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors required for choosing a nutritious diet, helping to improve the nutritional well-being of the whole family. Program participants gain the ability and confidence to make informed choices about eating healthy on a limited budget and to become more self-sufficient. More information about EFNEP can be found on NIFA's website: www.nifa.usda.gov/nea/food/efnep/efnep.html

Virginia implemented their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program- Education (SNAP-Ed) program in 1998. SNAP-Ed is the educational outreach division of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps). SNAP-Ed's goal is to help limited-resource families choose healthy foods within a limited budget that meet the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans and USDA's MyPlate food guidance and to live physically active lives. By helping program participants improve their diet and physical activity levels, SNAP-Ed aims to prevent chronic diseases, including obesity. More information about SNAP-Ed can be found on FNS's website: http://snap.nal.usda.gov/national-snap-ed