Helping people live healthier lives—and helping communities create the conditions where health can flourish. Nebraska Extension Health & Wellbeing connects people and communities with the research, resources and expertise of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln to improve health across the lifespan.
More than knowing what to eat or how much to exercise, health is shaped by access to nutritious food, opportunities to be active, supportive relationships, confidence in managing health conditions, access to trusted information and healthcare, and the environments where people live, learn, work and play. In Lancaster County, Nebraska Extension works alongside schools, healthcare providers, community organizations and trusted cultural and neighborhood partners to bring practical, research-based health education and resources directly to people and communities.
Building Healthy Habits from an Early Age
In the Lincoln Public Schools, Nebraska Extension provides the nutrition school enrichment kit program for every grade level, equipping teachers with curriculum, activities and tools that are integrated into the district's core health unit, aligning with national health education standards.
Extension also provides more intensive, hands-on nutrition and physical activity education to children, youth and families with limited resources through the federally funded Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). These classes are free to limited-resource audiences due to grant support, making practical, research-based health education accessible to children and families throughout the community.
Preventing and Living Well With Chronic Conditions
Nebraska Extension provides community-based education and health coaching focused on chronic disease prevention and management, including education specific to hypertension and diabetes that helps people living with a chronic condition have the knowledge, confidence and support to live as well as possible. Participants learn practical strategies for healthy eating, physical activity, monitoring their health, communicating with healthcare providers and making sustainable lifestyle changes. Learn more. Visit Smart Health for resources and information.
Improving Access to Healthy Food
Nebraska Extension helps coordinate Double Up Food Bucks, a systemic approach to healthy food access that helps families using SNAP stretch their food dollars further when purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables. By combining nutrition education with efforts that improve food access, Extension works to address both individual behaviors and the community conditions that influence health.
Supporting Healthy Aging
Nebraska Extension partners with organizations serving older adults to provide practical nutrition education, meaningful food and health experiences for seniors, including those with limited incomes to support healthy eating, independence, confidence and social connection.
Providing Trusted Answers When People Need Them
Nebraska Extension serves as a trusted source of research-based information for the public. Community members can contact Extension educators with health and wellbeing questions ranging from nutrition and healthy eating to food safety, food preparation and safe food preservation. Lancaster County educators can draw upon colleagues throughout Nebraska Extension's statewide system to help connect people with reliable, university-based information.
Extending Health Education Across Nebraska
Lancaster County Health & Wellbeing educators collaborate with Extension professionals across Nebraska's 93 counties to meet emerging community needs. Virtual education further expands that reach so families and individuals can access practical education and support regardless of where they live. This statewide network means that expertise developed in one community can strengthen work in another—and local needs can help shape Extension's broader health and wellbeing efforts.
Partner With Nebraska Extension
Nebraska Extension Health & Wellbeing welcomes opportunities to collaborate. Partnerships may include hosting health education or chronic disease programs, referring individuals to classes and health coaching, bringing nutrition education into schools and community settings, collaborating on healthy food access initiatives, reaching underserved communities, connecting people with trusted health information, or developing new community-based approaches to emerging health needs. Connect with the Health & Wellbeing team.
