Two years ago, a vital piece of community health returned to the area. In October 2024, a partnership with Healthy Together Cleveland brought the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) back to Cleveland County after years of vacancy.
This resurgence was made possible through Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas (HPHC) funds. By funding a portion of the salary for a new EFNEP educator, this organization invested in the community's well-being. HPHC funds are designed to support coalition development, physical activity, nutrition, chronic disease prevention and health equity, and that is what this investment achieved.
With the funding secured, Cleveland County Cooperative Extension welcomed Kayley Warren as the new EFNEP educator. Warren joined Extension with a deep passion for offering positive encouragement to adults and youth regarding their health, a passion she continues to fuel while working toward her BS degree in agricultural education.
Supported by the Healthy Together Cleveland coalition, County Extension Director Greg Traywick, EFNEP Programmatic Supervisor Carla Dockery and a team of Extension agents, Warren has made strides in reaching limited-resource families and school-aged children with free, hands-on health education. Through lessons focused on diet quality, physical activity, food safety and food resource management, she makes healthy living both accessible and engaging.
In two years, the re-established EFNEP program has delivered results across Cleveland County, serving 37 families and nearly 1,000 local youth. Of the adult participants, 76% showed improvement in their food resource management skills, including the ability to stretch their food dollars. In addition, 53% began exercising on more days of the week. Of the youth participants, 86% improved their diet quality, 61% improved their participation in physical activity and 55% improved their food safety knowledge.
Program leaders credit Healthy Together Cleveland for its initial financial support and its work in connecting EFNEP to community partners. Its early backing helped set the stage for these results.
While the initial grant has concluded, the future of the program remains strong. Cleveland County Government has stepped in to sustain the initiative. Because of that commitment to the health of residents, EFNEP will continue to serve Cleveland County families in the years ahead.
This content is sourced from
NC Cooperative Extension Cabarrus County Center
. It reflects the author's views and has not been edited by our newsroom. It may have been generated using AI assistance.
