Children's food preferences are strongly associated with their consumption patterns. Children tend to choose foods with which they are familiar. It is proposed that the earlier and broader the experience with food, the healthier the child's or adult´s diet. In a focus group we developed a toolkit consisting of a training course for kindergarten…

Background: Early care and education settings (ECE) are potential venues for young children to develop healthy lifestyle habits. The study assesses training needs and associations with relevant practices of licensed ECE providers across Minnesota and Wisconsin. Methods: A random sample of 823 providers completed a 97-item survey assessing…

Background: Activities to foster food literacy in young people are increasingly common in schools, driven both by the public health sector and by curriculum mandates from education officials in government. In Canada, both Kindergarten-Grade 12 (K-12) classroom teachers and educators from community organisations deliver food literacy education…

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is the nation's first federal nutrition education program for low-income populations. Without question, accelerating equity in programming has long been a priority of EFNEP. Historically underserved populations with limited financial resources are often people of color and at increased risk…

This study examines the role of school food education and school food culture in England and their potential to support pupils' capabilities to adopt health protecting and promoting behaviours. Drawing on Amartya Sen's capability approach, and Susan Michie's COM-B model, the research was conducted for the "Food Education Learning…

Purpose/Objectives: Chef's Adopt a School (CAAS) is an evidence-based food education program delivered in schools (Kindergarten-12th grade) in the United Kingdom (UK) which helps children understand the importance of nutritional literacy and encourages healthy eating. This qualitative study investigated the underlying components of the CAAS…

The Eagle Adventure program was designed as a semester-long, SNAP-Ed program to address food and physical activity choices important for prevention of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and other chronic diseases. The program was developed for implementation in Grades 1-3. This article presents findings from two participating grade centers inclusive of…

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of coordinated in-classroom education and taste-testing activities on fruit and vegetable acceptance in a state-wide sample of third through sixth grade children. Methods: Two taste-testing sessions were a part of six nutrition lessons that were implemented in nine elementary…

The Affordable Care Act provides impetus for Extension efforts in worksite wellness. The study reported here examined the influence of two worksite wellness interventions, newsletters and individual counseling. Surveys examined dietary and physical activity behaviors of participants pre- and post-intervention (N = 157). Descriptive statistics,…

This booklet provides information to assist nutrition educators in helping their audiences use the Food Guide Pyramid to plan and prepare foods for a healthy diet. It reviews the objectives set in developing the Food Guide Pyramid and illustrates their impact on the application of the Food Guide Pyramid to planning menus. In particular, the…

This teacher support manual helps elementary educators teach proper nutrition to students in pre-K through grade 5. It provides a summary of all the background and tools teachers will need to do what they want with the Team Nutrition/Scholastic curricula. There is brief background information on nutrition basics; step-by-step instructions for…

This illustrated guide was designed to help parents understand: (1) how blood cholesterol in children is related to heart disease later in life; (2) which children should get their cholesterol tested and what to expect afterwards; (3) how the whole family can eat in a low-saturated fat, low-cholesterol way; and (4) how to help children follow a…

This booklet for young children is part of a series that supports national science standards related to physical health and nutrition, describing and illustrating the food groups of the food guide pyramid. Colorful photographs support early readers in understanding the text. The repetition of words and phrases helps early readers learn new words.…

Here is a book that invites teachers to the table--even those of us who don't see ourselves as cooks--to create tasty, wholesome projects with children. Young children certainly love to cook, and cooking experiences give them a chance to see a task through to completion and take pride in a product. As they prepare food, children learn social…

This guide booklet helps parents teach their children about healthy nutrition at home. It is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Team Nutrition, which is designed to improve the health and education of children and which actively involves children and their families in nutrition education activities in the school, community, and home. The…