UMES celebrates 50 years of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. — This morning 47 ABC’s Erica Murphy was joined on the desk by  Dr. Virginie Zoumenou, who is the State Extension Nutrition Specialist and the UMES Extension Nutrition & Health Program Leader. Dr. Zoumenou was here to talk about the 50th Anniversary of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program or EFNEP.

The EFNEP has provided life-changing information for low-income families with young children and youth who are eligible for free and reduced lunch at school. They offer two programs; one for youth and one for adults.

IF you didn’t know, received funding for ENFEP in 2006 and since then the program has reached 300 families and 700-900 families.

Dr. Zoumenou and her team are asking the campus community and local communities to come together in celebrating EFNEP’s 50th anniversary with a one day, two event special. The events will be on Wednesday, September 25th. The first event, which is the EFNEP Open House, will be at UMES from 10 a.m. to 2 pm.m in the Richard A. Henson Center, room 1116. Here, you will find education stations, free food and drinks, prizes, and a bike that makes smoothies. You can’t pass up the smoothie bike!

There will also be an event later in the day, a Dinner and Awards Ceremony, held from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.. There will be live music from the New Direction Band.

Dr. Zoumeno tells us the events are free and open to the public.  They are encouraged to register at enfep50years.eventbrite.com. If they don’t get a chance to register, they should come anyway.