“Eat Healthy. Your Kids are Watching.” Pilot Nutrition Campaign

Abstract

Research shows that too many Americans fail to recognize the diet/health link, while those who do recognize it often lack the information they need to change. A nutrition campaign was developed and used a two-step approach to change negative consumption patterns and the social and cultural influences that contribute to them. First, the program used an innovative, focus-group tested message (“Eat Healthy. Your Kids Are Watching.”) to prompt awareness in parents that they are role-models for children. Second, the campaign provided the activities needed to fulfill this role and make changes in eating habits. The target audience for the campaign was low-income adults in households with children living in Kent County, Michigan. Four weeks of campaign activities were directed by the Kent County partnership, which included over 40 active representatives from local businesses, health care, private practice, non-profit agencies, and schools. The partners strengthened outreach of the campaign by creating an innovative logo and slogan and disseminating it through multiple channels using social marketing techniques, such as television commercials, full-color newsletters in English and Spanish, bus signs, billboards, a toll-free number, posters, and school lunch menus. The activities included distribution of a “partners kit” with programming materials, grocery store tours, cooking demonstrations, and WIC (Women, Infants, Children) modules for nutrition education sessions. An estimated 40,100 residents were reached overall, including some 5,940 in the target population. School lunch menus, billboards, and television commercials were seen as the most effective media for reaching the target population. The telephone survey evaluation (800 respondents) revealed that total awareness of the campaign was 41% in all households, but 52% in the target population - suggesting that the special focus on low-income households was effective. Based on these findings, Michigan now has the rare combination a tested campaign model and a partnership to create a statewide nutrition network.