two kids sit at a table eating and laughing

Nutrition

Food safety and security and obesity prevention

Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) empowers New Yorkers to choose healthy food and healthy habits through programs that connect research and practice.

To see what programs are offered in your area, visit or contact a local office. 

Featured programs

two people stand in front of a banner that reads FNEP
The Expanded Food & Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)

EFNEP has been an anchor of CCE community outreach for the past 50 years. Through hands-on workshops, educators teach adults about food and exercise, food safety and security and work to foster a sense of mastery, belonging, independence and generosity among youth participants.

three people work at a table filled with food
Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP)

The FMNP, a state-wide effort to connect communities and populations that are food insecure with local farmers who could be put to work to feed them, is an example of CCE building bridges to deliver quality, local foods. Local associations run displays and demonstrations at farmers markets, offering samples and recipe ideas for fruits and vegetables in season.

Student picking up pre-plated greens in school lunch line
New York State Farm to School

Farm to school programs in schools and early care and education sites engage young people in hands-on learning and connect families to fresh, healthy local food. In New York State, a cross-disciplinary team of Extension associates, Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) educators, and partners from NYS agencies work together to create better cohesion of farm to school programming across the state.

Food safety trainings

CCE educators work to keep consumers safe and help produce operations meet food safety standards through education and workshops on compliance and best practices. Educational offerings include important information and updates to food safety regulations, including the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and co-management of natural resources and food safety. 

a worker flips a cabbage in the air

Partner organizations & programs

Stories

Cross-section of chicken intestine with cells that may be affected by food nanoparticles.

News

Food coloring, anti-caking nanoparticles may affect human gut

Metal oxide nanoparticles – commonly used as food coloring and anti-caking agents in commercial ingredients – may damage parts of the human intestine, say Cornell and Binghamton University scientists.

  • Cornell Atkinson
  • Food Science
  • Health + Nutrition
Anu Rangarajan speaking during a webinat

News

Cornell experts advocate for ag diversity, food security
“They’re highly experienced, have managed large farms, have all sorts of skills, and most plan to spend a lifetime in agriculture,” Anu Rangarajan, director of the Cornell Small Farms Program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Horticulture Section
Man teaches food inspectors.

News

Institute for Food Safety to offer first in-state FDA training
New York state is ranked second in the nation for food processing, according to the USDA Economic Research Service, and collaborations between the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYS AGM), the Food and Drug Administration...
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Institute for Food Safety
  • Food Science
Gymnasium set up as vaccine site

Field Note

Extension Connections Help Bring COVID-19 Vaccinations to NYC Neighborhoods
Community partnerships work! In the spring of 2021, Cornell University Cooperative Extension – New York City (CUCE-NYC) has been connecting the Community Healthcare Network with the community engagement team at Weill Cornell Medicine's Clinical and Translational Sciences Center (CTSC) so that medical students could volunteer with community-based vaccination clinics.
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Health + Nutrition
Former Farm to School Educator Mollie McDonough stands next to a counter with a 'Farm to School' meal kit.

Spotlight

Farm to School Educator Adapts Lessons To Go
Amanda Henning spent much of 2019 planning a steady cycle of hands-on programming for the 2020-21 school year, including Family Cooking Nights. A free afterschool nutrition initiative for K-6 students at Lockport City School District (LCSD)...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension