2025 National EFNEP Coordinators' Conference

In May 2024, in a joint partnership with USDA-NIFA and the CDC, the Extension Foundation funded 33 EFNEP programs across the country with over $2 million to promote the BRIDGE Access Program, focused on building awareness of eligibility and access to a free COVID-19 vaccine, as well as ongoing adult vaccine education. In addition to promoting the program in adult EFNEP classes with Power Point presentations and recipe cards and at health fairs, programs also used a variety of outlets including social media, Hispanic newspapers, church bulletins and bus marketing techniques. Assets from other institutions were also available to use and adapt. Some of these assets will be shared during the presentation.

Some of the successes reported to-date include increasing EFNEP educators’ knowledge of other health issues, access to additional professional development and resources, showcasing EFNEP community partnerships and community trust, offsetting some costs from the EFNEP budget, and increasing the variety of how different health promotion topics are marketed. Challenges included working with individual institutions’ differing research offices, Covid-19 vaccination hesitancy, and having to pivot earlier than anticipated to a general Adult Immunization Education initiative. With a reach of over 2 million in the first quarter alone, these types of partnerships have a great opportunity to get important health messages to those most in need while showcasing the community-based network throughout the nation via our land-grant institutions.