The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is committed to lead America in ending hunger and improving nutrition and health. The FNS mission is to increase food security and reduce hunger in partnership with cooperating organizations by providing low income persons with access to food, a healthful diet and nutrition education. The Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program is intended to carry out this vision and mission for the Food Stamp Program.

State of Hawaii: Department of Human Services
National Food Stamps
Food Stamp Nutrition Connection
Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines

Hawaii’s Food Stamp Nutrition Education Project collaboratively (Collaboration Wheel* and USDA-FNS Hawaii Council memorandum*) provides practical nutrition education for Hawaii’s low-income households. Through a working partnership, the Hawaii Food Stamp Program and the University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension Service jointly facilitates nutrition education services delivery with support and guidance from USDA-FNS Hawaii Council, a memorandum of understanding consortium of United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Programs.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Programs share the common mission of ensuring access to nutritious, healthy diets for all Americans. Food assistance and nutrition education programs for low-income Americans promote healthful diets through educational efforts encouraging consumers to make healthful food choices.

The Food Stamp Program (FSP) is designed to safeguard the health and well-being of low income Americans by providing access to a healthy, nutritious diet. The FSP includes activities designed to increase, within a limited budget, the likelihood of healthy food choices by food stamp recipients that are compatible with the most recent dietary advice as reflected in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Food Guide Pyramid.

The University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension Service (UH-CES) offers practical “putting knowledge to work” services to the people of the State of Hawaii. Nutrition Education is a major focus area, and in addition to Food Stamps Nutrition Education, endeavors include the Food: Just Grow It! Project, Food and Money Basics, Food Safety Education, Consumer Helpline, Diabetes Education Project and Nutrition Education for Wellness (NEW) Webpage (http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/NEW/). As part of the USDA land-grant college system, UH-CES collaborates with and offers training and technical assistance to USDA food and nutrition programs including school lunch and breakfast program, child and adult care food program, congregate and home-delivered meals for seniors, women infants children program, and commodity foods. UH-CES has a core of nutrition education professionals and a history of practical, non-formal delivery of educational programs. As part of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, UH-CES has a statewide network of county offices and programs, and access to the nutrition specialties of the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences.

There is a link between nutrition, nutrition education, and the well-being of individuals and families. Historically established is the link between nutrition, a fundamental physical building block of human beings, and the well-being of our country. Food assistance programs have been based on this link. Research continues to expand its findings regarding the links between nutrition and the physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being of people. Research is establishing the link between adequate nutrition in the early years and adult productivity, the link between adequate nutrition and risks of disease and disability, and the linkage between nutrition education and nutritional intake. Also, the greater the number and variety of community partnerships and the deeper the collaboration with these partners, the greater will be the learners’ access to education, nutritious lower priced food, and community recognition for nutritional success.

Hawaii’s Food Stamp Nutrition Education Project’s ultimate goal is to safeguard the health and well-being of low income households by providing access to a healthy, nutritious diet. Objectives focus on dietary quality, food security, food safety, food resource management/shopping behaviors and system and environmental changes. Methods and activities need to convey messages needed to build skills and change behaviors; have a limited series of focused messages that are strong, consistent and simple; have many messengers; and be delivered at primary points of contact. Assessment and evaluation are significant and based on the logic model framework method and incremental behavior change outcomes.

The following are resources, user zones, training opportunities, collaborative projects and food education focus areas that form the basis for Hawaii’s FSNEP.

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