News Releases

Participating in the signing on behalf of UT were (left to right) Dr. Shirley Hastings, associate dean of Extension; Interim President Dr. Joe Johnson; Dr. Jack Britt, vice for agriculture; and Sandra Shivers, Extension’s TNCEP project director.

TNCEP – the Tennessee Nutrition and Consumer Education Program – teaches Tennessee families who receive or who are eligible to receive food stamps how to choose and prepare nutritionally adequate diets. The goal is to help these families achieve health and self-sufficiency. The program is delivered to Tennessee citizens county by county through the UT Agricultural Extension Service in cooperation with community partners and the Tennessee State University Cooperative Extension Service. TNCEP is funded by the Tennessee Department of Human Services with federal pass-through dollars.

The $20 million grant extends an existing agreement. UT Extension will continue providing TNCEP services through September 2008.

University of Tennessee Interim President Dr. Joe Johnson (at left) and Dr. Jack Britt, vice for agriculture, congratulate Dr. Shirley Hastings, associate dean of Extension, on the $20 million grant to continue the Tennessee Nutrition and Consumer Education Program.

Data from the USDA Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services indicate that in Tennessee monthly food stamp benefits averaged almost $46 million for FY 2002. An average of 255,900 households representing 598,000 persons participated in the program. Nationwide, more than half of food stamp beneficiaries were children (51 percent), and another 9 percent were age 60 or older. The average monthly benefit per person in Tennessee was approximately $76.85.

TNCEP involves an approved nutrition curriculum that focuses on five primary areas of education. UT family and consumer sciences faculty provide expertise in the focus areas. The first focus is how to achieve food security, which means how to have enough to eat without having to seek emergency food, such as from food pantries. Other education topics include food safety, including proper storage and cooking; shopping behavior and food resource management; dietary quality; and system and environmental change.

“Encouraging and enabling food stamp recipients to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables is one example of TNCEP working toward systemic and environmental changes,” said Dr. Shirley Hastings, associate dean of the UT Agricultural Extension Service who also administers the TNCEP program. Hastings said other TNCEP initiatives involve working to provide nutrition education for child care providers serving children from families with limited resources.

Local coalitions, which may include government or community organizations, school systems, and faith-based groups, cooperate with Extension to identify eligible participants and to administer the program. County family and consumer science Extension agents provide leadership for the local coalitions and programs.

Participating in the signing on behalf of UT were Sandra Shivers, Extension’s TNCEP project director, Hastings, Britt and UT Interim President Dr. Joe Johnson.

“TNCEP is one of many fine examples of how the university is reaching out to improve lives across the state,” Johnson said. "I am proud of the outstanding work and leadership by talented University of Tennessee Extension faculty in cooperation with the Tennessee Department of Human Services."

###

Contacts: Dr. Shirley Hastings, 974-7384; Patricia McDaniels, 974-7141