2025 National EFNEP Coordinators' Conference

As families with limited financial resources face rising food costs and limited food preparation time, frozen foods may serve as a cost-effective and convenient way to ensure adequate household diet quality. Preliminary research has concluded that families of all income levels, including those who utilize SNAP, shop for frozen products, including frozen fruits and vegetables. To inform how nutrition education programs like EFNEP and SNAP-Ed could better promote frozen foods with minimal fat, added sugar, and sodium in program delivery, a cross-sectional survey was implemented from November 2023-September 2024 to gauge how EFNEP/SNAP-Ed participants currently perceive and utilize frozen foods. A sponsored research opportunity from the Frozen Food Foundation funded this research. Participants from 14 states (n=421) completed the survey; preliminary analyses are described hereafter (n=309). The participant demographics were comparable to other studies of EFNEP participants: the majority of the sample was female; the three most common reported races and ethnicities were White, Hispanic/Latino, and Black/African American, respectively; and over 40% earned less than $15,000 annually. Sixty-three percent of participants reported that their households consumed frozen foods at least weekly. Almost three-quarters rated being able to purchase frozen foods with SNAP as moderately, very, or extremely important. Forty-six percent reported that they would purchase more frozen fruits and vegetables if they were available at convenience stores; 64% would purchase more frozen fruits and vegetables if they had more freezer space. Full study results, with implications for EFNEP programming, will be discussed by the researchers at this session.