Food and Health
Food is a daily need that all Mississippians have in common—we all need to eat, and most of us love to eat! But food choices also have a significant impact on health, from getting a breakfast boost that powers up our brains for a successful day to fighting heart disease. The MSU Extension Service strives to make sound, science-based information available and understandable to help Mississippians of all ages make positive decisions about their health and wellness.
Extension is the home of the Office of Nutrition Education, which administers two federally funded programs—the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-ED).
Extension also offers the ServSafe training for personnel working in our state’s restaurants, school cafeterias, and food businesses. We also provide the TummySafe training for those working in child-care centers.
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of infirmity.” — World Health Organization, 1948
The Family, Health, and Wellness (FHW) program within MSU's Cooperative Extension Service is committed to enhancing health and wellness through education, research, and community outreach in areas such as nutrition, food, and healthy living. This diverse field focuses on empowering individuals and families to build the resources needed to navigate life's ongoing challenges. FHW specialists, agents, and staff are deeply involved in local communities, working to improve the health and well-being of families, schools, and neighborhoods. Through evidence-based education, cutting-edge research, and collaborative partnerships, we are ‘informing decisions, shaping futures, and strengthening Mississippi’.
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Did you know yellow squash is in the pumpkin family and are 95 percent water?
MISSISSIPPI STATE, Miss. -- A pilot program designed to increase food pantries’ capacity to provide health-related foods and services recently completed its initial classes.
Washing your hands correctly helps prevent food-borne illness and stop the spread of colds, flu and other germs.
Handwashing can help prevent you and others from getting sick, but be sure you are washing the right way!
Success Stories
In Rolling Fork, the Mississippi town in Sharkey County devastated by a twister on March 24, 2023, despair was not an option.
You don’t have to have diabetes to benefit from the principles of the Dining with Diabetes (DWD) program.
Dining with Diabetes covers healthy eating, physical activity, disease monitoring, medication compliance, and risk reduction, and the course empowers participants by giving them access to nutrition knowledge and resources for food preparation. Classes include research-based education, cooking demonstrations, and healthy recipe tasting. These tools can help people make positive changes by planning menus, counting carbohydrates, controlling portions, and reading labels.