Jean Noland, a nutrition Extension agent for Grand Forks County, has been honored as the North Dakota award recipient for her significant contributions to the success of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. Noland and several other regional and state award winners were recognized at the program’s 40th anniversary reception in Washington, D.C., on March 9.

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program is a program that operates in all 50 states and American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It is designed to assist people with limited resources by acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitude and changed behavior necessary for nutritionally sound diets, and to contribute to their personal development and the improvement of the total family diet and nutritional well-being.

“It is exciting and rewarding to receive this award and represent the state of North Dakota,” Noland said. “The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program is a great program and I hope it will be around for many years to come. Working in EFNEP at the NDSU Extension Service has provided me a piece of the P.I.E. – participation, involvement and empowerment. Like the target audience that I work with, you will get out of it what you put in.”

Noland’s role in the program is to provide programming that is relevant and fun. “I try to plan my programming around the question ‘What’s the most important benefit they’ll receive from hearing me?’ ” Noland said. She uses games, themes and costumes to encourage learning and to enhance her programs.  

Noland began working at the NDSU Extension Service in August 2001. Her responsibilities include teaching low-income audiences how to improve their dietary practices and become more effective managers of available resources.