Increase fruit and vegetable intake of toddlers and preschoolers: Providing nutrition education, cooking classes and recipes

to parents and daycare providers

Cheryl Templeton NFSC 431: Foodservice Equipment and Production System Spring 2013

Background
Problem Toddlers/Preschool aged children not consuming enough fruits & vegetables There is a strong association among parents and care providers in nutrition education, exposure and modeling in increasing childrens consumption of fruits/vegetables Variables Independent: Education Ethnicity Income Dependent Exposure to tasting for providers and children 1 time each week 6 Cooking classes for parents & providers/month 6 recipes/month Modeling

Inputs
Investment SNAC staff Federal dollars First 5 of CA staff State dollars NAFCC Requiring some nutrition ed. Family Childcare Assoc. Shasta-Tehama County Volunteers Providers Parents Infrastructure Shasta County Office of Ed Turtle Bay Market Fest Evaluation Tool

Outputs
Activities related to research Activity planning Recipe development/Evaluation tool Cooking classes Providing recipe cards with pictures , instructions, serving size, and amount of servings (include cost to prepare) Recruitment of licensed family childcare providers and parents of children in their care Providing food samples to family daycares Purchasing ingredients from Market Fest and local grocery stores Provide fliers with nutrition information and importance of exposure and modeling at each cooking class and tasting Who we reach: Licensed family child care providers, parents and children At least 2 providers and 8 parents per month At least 1 provider and 4 parents will cook recipes at home

Outcomes
Short-term Goals Participants will increase preference for healthy recipes Participants will prepare recipes at home Participants will model eating recipes with children Children will try recipes at child care and home Medium-term Goals Participants will gain nutrition knowledge Participants will gain culinary skills Participants will gain self-efficacy in preparing and modeling healthier options for children in their care Long-term Goals Participants and children in their care will consume more nutritious foods over their lifetime Participants will promote culinary skills to children in their care

References:

1 Horodynski, et al. Low-Income

African American and Non-Hispanic White Mothers Self-Efficacy, Picky Eater Perception, and Toddler Fruit and Vegetable Consumption. Public Health Nursing, Volume 27, Issue 5, September-October 2010, Pages 408-417 2Savage, et al. Parental Influence on Eating Behavior: Conception to Adolescence, Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Volume 35, Issue 1, Spring 2007, Pages 22-34

Ethnicity/Race:

Hispanic

Asian

White

African American

Native American

Other

SURVEY
Please check appropriate box for each question How often will you prepare the recipes learned in tastings and cooking classes for the children in your care? How often will you model eating the recipes from cooking classes and tastings for the children in your care? Never Once a week More than once a week

How often will you place the prepared recipes from cooking classes and tastings on the childrens plates?
Describe how the cooking classes and tastings have made a difference in the consumption of fruits and vegetables for the children in your care.