About EFNEP in Palm Beach

Situation

 Being poor in Palm Beach County often means being hungry or malnourished. Low income, minority, and educationally disadvantaged people are most at risk for diet-related diseases. Poor nutrition from the lack of sufficient quantity and/or quality of food and lack of sufficient physical activity have been identified as two of the top risk factors for serious health issues. Many of these families in poverty lack the knowledge and skills to select and prepare more nutritious diets, manage their limited food budget, and increase physical activity.

EFNEP provides 

By using nutrition educators in local community group settings, Adult EFNEP aids limited-resource families in acquiring the knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations, and behaviors necessary to improve their diets and overall well-being. We have a strong partnership with the Palm Beach County Food Bank and offer a program called Nutrition Driven. In this program, the Palm Beach County Food Bank offers EFNEP participants take-home groceries at the end of each EFNEP class.

Programs Offered 

Adult Programing

Adults

EFNEP offers adult programs, typically nine sessions long and held in a community setting.

Adult programs incorporate relevant nutrition information to help families eat better food for less money. Small group sizes allow EFNEP educators to tailor each class for their audience. Participants connect with one another in hands-on activities and group discussion.

All EFNEP classes include interactive food demonstrations of easy and delicious recipes. Also, each lesson comes with a lesson enhancement and a tool designed to help participants adopt a healthy lifestyle.

MEET PALM BEACH COUNTY

Danielle De Vries-Navarro, MS, RDN, LDN
Agent II, Palm Beach County

More than a decade ago, Danielle became an integral part of the EFNEP team in Florida. Her standout achievement is the nationally recognized Food is Medicine initiative, "Healthy Food Prescription Program," an innovative medically tailored grocery intervention in collaboration with Living Hungry. This pioneering program seamlessly integrates EFNEP education with essential grocery provisions aimed at supporting the most vulnerable families in the county who are grappling with diabetes mellitus and food insecurity.

As a visionary founder of the Florida Health and Nutrition Coalition, Danielle champions the cause of embedding medically tailored nutrition and education as fundamental pillars within the Florida healthcare system. This visionary coalition is dedicated to fostering the incorporation of personalized nutrition strategies to both manage and prevent diseases.

Her dedication to her field is evident in her active engagement as a valued Society of Nutrition Education and Behavior member. Danielle's academic journey includes completing her Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition from Pennsylvania State University, her dietetic internship at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and her Master of Science degree in Nutrition from the University of Saint Joseph.

Email: ddevries@ufl.edu