Background: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) is the federal nutrition education program of the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP-Ed is designed to increase the likelihood that individuals with limited budgets can eat…

Body mass index (BMI) screenings are conducted as part of Head Start's (HS) health and nutrition assessments. Weight status classifications, which rely on the accuracy of the BMI measurements, are communicated to caregivers to engage them in health behavior change. Limited qualitative research has been conducted on the procedures for BMI…

Objective: African Americans in the USA experience a disproportionate burden of chronic disease. Healthy lifestyle promotion programmes can help decrease this disease risk. This study determined the feasibility of using dyadic peer support to augment an existing healthy lifestyle programme in African American churches. Design: A prospective…

Barriers and supports to nutrition education in the early childhood classroom are most often presented from in-service teachers' perspective. Little work has been done to understand pre-service early childhood educators' perceptions of barriers and supports before entering the classroom. The purpose of this study was to identify early childhood…

This qualitative, exploratory, comparative case study examined plant-based innovations in Title I PK12 public-school nutrition programs (PSNPs) in the context of the School Health Index (SHI) and Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) objectives. The study explored the perceptions of PK12 superintendents, school board members, nutrition…

Our study examined the relationship between improved personal health behaviors of Head Start teachers and the promotion of positive health behaviors in their classrooms. Thirty-three Head Start teachers across seven centers received six 30-min nutrition education lessons. Dietary intake, physical activity, and self-efficacy for promoting positive…

Research indicates that low-income consumers are less likely to shop at farmers' markets and that these individuals are often those with the lowest intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. This project aimed to improve familiarity with farmers' markets among low-income consumers through guided tours of farmers' markets, implemented as part of the…

This study aimed to understand early childhood pre-service teachers' thoughts and experiences with nutrition education in their undergraduate program and how these experiences play into their perceptions and future use of nutrition education within their own classrooms. Using phenomenology, 11 in-depth telephonic interviews were conducted with…

Background: Explore associations between nutrition, science, and mathematics knowledge to provide evidence that integrating food/nutrition education in the fourth-grade curriculum may support gains in academic knowledge. Methods: Secondary analysis of a quasi-experimental study. Sample included 438 students in 34 fourth-grade classrooms across…

The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) is the nation's first nutrition education program and remains at the forefront of educational efforts to reduce nutrition insecurity of low-income families and youth today. Funded by the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), EFNEP supports program participants' efforts…

Service-learning programs provide students with opportunities to gain discipline-specific skills, while providing community organizations with a steady pool of volunteers. However, because students may lack the skills needed to effectively serve the community, skills-based training may need to be incorporated into service-learning courses.…

Parents play a significant role in molding their children's nutrition knowledge and behavior. The purpose of the present study was to explore parental influence on preschooler's nutrition education from the perspectives of North Carolina-based Head Start coordinators and teachers. Investigators conducted 63 in-depth, structured interviews with…

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a signature federal program that in FY2019 provided financial assistance to 35 million low-income Americans. SNAP is a focused program that increases food access, reduces hunger, and improves the nutrition and health of low-income American families. It is in the interest of the nation and…

The project reported here evaluated the effectiveness of nutrition education at food pantries. We offer best practices for future Extension-based nutrition programming with this clientele. Three classes were offered at food pantries through the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). Entry and exit surveys were collected for each…

HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk-reduction interventions are needed to address the complex risk behaviors among African-American female adolescents in disadvantaged communities in North Carolina. In a two-group randomized trial, we reached 237 sexually active, substance-using African-American female adolescents, to test a…