Background: The COVID-19 pandemic intensified disparities for underserved populations as accessing resources became more difficult. Dairy Council of California launched the Let's Eat Healthy initiative to address nutrition security through collaborative solutions in the school environment. Implications For School Health Policy, Practice, and…

Farm to school education connects learning to the real world by helping students foster a deeper appreciation for local agriculture and healthy eating habits. Students experience and understand how nature supports life and the food they eat. Farm to school can take many forms, from classroom lessons to field trips in the school garden. Many…

Objective: Despite the popularity of weight loss interventions, research indicates these methods are ineffective for promoting long-term health. College age is a developmentally important age for developing lifelong health habits. FitU is a peer-led non-diet nutrition and physical activity (PA) mentoring intervention developed to promote lifelong…

Objective: The study examined which snack factors and nutritional ingredients influence college students' snack choices using a discrete choice experiment (DCE). Participants: In November 2016, a total of 1,624 undergraduate students participated in the study. Methods: Two DCEs were constructed using a unique approach of block fractional factorial…

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of Full Plate Diet (FPD) on the primary prevention of cardio-metabolic risk factors. Design: Randomised clinical trial. Setting: Drayson Center, Loma Linda University, CA, USA. Methods: Forty individuals were randomly assigned to either an intervention group receiving the FPD health…

Purpose/Objectives: In 2009, the Smarter Lunchroom Movement (SLM) strategy was created to provide schools across the United States (US) with evidence-based solutions to encourage healthier eating among children. Results, though, are inconsistent with how well this movement impacts school-aged children's healthy food selection and consumption.…

To reduce the risk of pediatric obesity, behaviorally-focused parental education is needed. This study examined the feasibility of guided goal setting in a pediatric obesity prevention intervention for low-income parents of young children. Parents from Head Start participated in a six-week nutrition, activity, and parenting intervention that…

Utilizing teachers as extenders may maximize the reach of Extension nutrition education programs; however, there is a need to identify effective professional development (PD) strategies to ensure quality implementation. Lesson study is a PD model that demonstrated improvements in school teachers' self-efficacy and knowledge in various disciplines.…

We conducted a process evaluation of the Shaping Healthy Choices Program, a multicomponent school-based nutrition program, when implemented in partnership with University of California (UC) CalFresh and UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE). There were positive impacts on participating students, but results varied across counties, possibly due to…

Background: Few nutrition interventions in kindergarten classes have been evaluated, and none has been tested for program effectiveness, implementation, and dissemination. Building a Healthy Me (BHM) is a nutrition intervention for kindergarteners that is classroom-based and includes a family component. This study evaluated the public health…

Afterschool programs in California have the potential to play a major role in obesity prevention given that they serve close to a million low-income children. A five-year initiative called the Healthy Eating Active Communities (HEAC) was funded in 2005 by the California Endowment to demonstrate that disparities related to childhood obesity and…

Objective: To identify characteristics in nutrition education video vignettes that support learning and motivation to learn about feeding children. Methods: Nine focus group interviews were conducted with child care providers in child care settings from 4 states in the western United States: California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. At each focus…

The Professional Development Portfolio (PDP) in family and consumer sciences nutrition and dietetics programs is a tool that can help students in their transition to professionals. Significant issues in the portfolio development process are: content selection, decision to create paper or online formatting, determination of proper timing to begin…

One in three children in this country is overweight or obese. One in five children lives in food-insecure households that struggle to put food on the table. Both problems affect millions of children. Both can occur in the same child at the same time. Both are linked to poor academic performance, behavior problems, and high rates of school…

Objective: To compare the applicant schools (AS) to non-applicant schools (NAS) residing in the same school districts for the California Instructional School Garden Program and identify barriers to the application process. Methods: A case-control, cross-sectional study design was used to compare resources and school environments. Pearson…