Cooperative Extension System/expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program/women, Infants and Children Nutrition Education Initiative

Abstract

LEARNING OUTCOME: TO identify dietary changes in residents of homeless shelters after participation in a nutrition education program.Although Connecticut has the highest per capita income of any state, it also has several of the nation's poorest cities. More than 3,000 women and children use homeless shelters in Hartford and New Haven. Homelessness increases health risks to children and pregnant women during growth and development. EFNEP paraprofessionals worked in selected homeless shelters to provide nutrition education and increase the awareness of the Women, Infants and Children Supplemental Food Program (WIC). Advisory councils, including WIC, shelter and EFNEP staff were organized to guide nutrition education efforts. During the two-year period, 230 shelter residents (primarily women) received nutrition education via group sessions, individual counseling and food demonstrations. Dietary data were collected using a minimum of two twenty-four-hour recalls and analyzed with the EFNEP Evaluation and Reporting (ERS) computer system. ERS evaluates diets using formulas for nutrient adequacy (NAR=Nutrient Adequacy Ratio=Nutrient intake/RDA; MAR=Mean NAR values for protein, iron, calcium, vitamins A, C and B6). During year one, MAR changed from .78 to .95 in Hartford and from .85 to .96 in New Haven with improvements in fiber, iron, vitamins A and B6. During year two, MAR changed from .79 to .82 in Hartford and from .79 to .81 in New Haven with improvements in calcium, vitamins A and C, and a decrease in total fat. The EFNEP/WIC nutrition education model is effective for improving the diets of shelter residents.