The setting for the study was the Minnesota Extension Service's Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), which was a U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded program to improve the nutrition knowledge and behavior of low-income individuals who were responsible for food preparation. The emphasis of EFNEP was on obtaining adequate and nutritious foods, and not on dietary behaviors for the prevention of chronic disease. Because a large proportion of this population had no more than an 8th grade education (30.9 percent nationally), EFNEP provided access to individuals with low literacy skills and a need for nutrition education for disease prevention. For example, a pilot study indicated that 34 of 42 respondents had never had their blood cholesterol level checked.