Implementation of the Sprouts Growing Healthy Habits Curriculum in Preschool and Kindergarten Classrooms: Is it Feasible?

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the workshop is to develop food literacy skills in school-aged children by teaching them to become ‘‘food detectives’’. Target Audience: The program was evaluated with a diverse sample of 4th and 5th graders inWashington State. Theory, Prior Research, Rationale: Gaining these skills is critical in a time of record rates of overweight and obesity. Childhood is the ideal time to intervene while health habits are being formed. Description: During an interactive, 2.5 hour workshop children learn about food marketing, nutrition labels, ingredient lists, food additives and cooking skills. The goal is to increase awareness of the content of food choices. Evaluation: A quiz highlighting each part of the workshop was administered pre and post workshop. An example question is, ‘‘Ingredients on a food label are listed: a.) Randomly in no special order b.) In order of least amount to greatest amount c.) In order of greatest amount to least amount d.) Don't know’’. Aggregated data from 103 classes, including 2,426 students, were analyzed. Paired sample t-tests showed highly significant improvements in students' responses to each question (p1⁄40.001). Students also rated the degree to which they gained nutrition and cooking skills knowledge and their satisfaction with the workshop on scales of 1-10, with 10 being most favorable. The average knowledge-gained score was 8.2 and their satisfaction rating was 9.0 (of 10). Conclusions and Implications: Students enjoyed this workshop while increasing their nutrition knowledge in each of the areas addressed. Funding: Beecher's Flagship Foundation