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Shawnee County extension says nutrition program reached hundreds and reported monthly food savings
Summary
Shawnee County extension staff told commissioners the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) reached hundreds of participants and reported average food-expenditure savings of $162.50 per month; staff described school sessions, a community garden partnership and ongoing coordination with WIC.
Candice Stiles, Shawnee County extension director, introduced an update on the county’s extension programs, highlighting nutrition education, youth programming and volunteer contributions.
Sofia Diaz Bueno, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) extension agent, said EFNEP aims to help low-income families improve nutrition and strengthen community connections. She told the board that program participants reported reduced food expenditures "by $162.50 monthly," and that "426 total family members were reached," citing program tracking and educator feedback; an annual figure given in the transcript was unclear.
Diaz Bueno described how the program operates in schools and community settings, listing recent and upcoming sessions at Jordan Middle School, Jardine Middle School, French Bridal School and an April session with TCAL culinary students. She summarized outcome measures for adults and youth, reporting improvements in food resource management, diet quality, physical activity and food-safety behaviors among graduates.
A Commissioner asked how EFNEP overlaps with the health department’s WIC dietitians after the health department announced plans to close a registered-dietitian position for lack of funding. Diaz Bueno said EFNEP educators "quickly refer them to WIC" when they identify prenatal clients at outreach sites and that EFNEP is primarily an education program while WIC provides one-on-one dietitian services. She added that EFNEP uses curricula such as Healthy You and Baby 2 and sometimes participates in WIC mom-group sessions.
Beyond EFNEP, Stiles summarized extension-quarter activity across 4-H, community vitality and horticulture: a 4-H robotics activity at the Boys & Girls Club, a youth business-pitch contest with $2,500 in prize money, 163 in-person Medicare Part D counseling appointments (an estimated $25,000 in planned client savings), and 17 newly trained Master Gardener volunteers who contributed thousands of volunteer hours.
Stiles also noted recent extension governance and outreach milestones — a Nov. 10 annual meeting where the 2026 Extension Board was sworn in and recognition of Community Resources Council as the Friend of Extension — and said a new agriculture agent, Terry Casey, is scheduled to start in mid-February.
The extension presenters offered to provide more detailed reports on request; the board thanked them and moved to the Parks and Recreation master-plan update.
