USU’s "Food $ense" program deals with hunger issues

Screenshot of USU Extension's Food $ense website.

Utah State University has become the first Utah college to join an initiative that unites universities to work toward increasing food security.

“Food security is creating access to a sufficient supply of both nutritious and safe food,” said Heidi LeBlanc, Director of USU Extension’s Food $ense program.

Utah State University President Stan Albrecht signed the Presidents’ Commitment to Food and Nutrition Security and pledged to pursue activities that prioritize food and nutrition on campus, including research, teaching, outreach and student engagement.

“The work we do in the Food $ense program is to reach low income families with nutrition education,” said LeBlanc. “In Utah some of those families just don’t have enough resources to last through the month.”

The <a href=”https://extension.usu.edu/foodsense/” target=”_blank”>Food $ense program</a> is established in all 29 Utah counties and has been since 1998.

“We also have another program that is a sister program — EFNET — which is the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education program. That is also concentrated on the Wasatch Front, thorough Extension.”

There are many research and outreach efforts related to hunger issues that are already in place at USU and that include’s extension’s Food $ense program. Food $ense offers a variety of classes to expand participants’ knowledge of nutrition, budgeting, cooking, food safety and physical activity.

LeBlanc said over the last year Food $ense reached over 12,000 adult participants throughout Utah and over 30,000 youth participants.

“We are already working to fight hunger, and there is a lot more we can do,” said LeBlanc.

The PUSH campaign — Presidents United to Solve Hunger — provides university presidents and students with resources they need to help commit their universities to a food-and-nutrition-secure world.

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