Evaluation of a USDA Nutrition Education Program for Low-income Youth

ObjectiveExamine effectiveness of a state’s Youth Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and assess the validity of the federal impact indicator method for reporting program outcomes.DesignA randomized, controlled field trial of 229 groups with 5,111 youth, 9-12 years old, in community settings.Intervention6- to 8- hour, 7-lesson education experience with food preparation and tasting, an education experience typical of EFNEP in California.Outcome MeasuresUS Department of Agriculture (USDA) impact indicators: nutrition knowledge, eating a variety of foods, food selection, and food preparation and safety practices.AnalysisAnalysis of covariance model controlling for pretest, gender, age, and ethnicity, with group nested in condition.ResultsOrganizing responses by impact indicators, treatment participants made significant gains on the posttest compared to controls for 3 of 4 indicators (P < .008 to P < .0001). Gains were made by 34 to 68% of youth participants for 4 indicators. The impact indicator method for federal reporting compared favorably with results from a randomized controlled trial with groups nested in conditions.Conclusion and ImplicationsThis is the first report in the literature of (1) a large evaluation study of Youth EFNEP and (2) an estimate of the validity of the USDA impact indicator method for reporting program outcomes.