Christina D. Economos, PhD¹, Jessica J. Collins, MS¹, Claire Kozower, MS¹, and Mary Joan McLarney, MS, RD². (1) Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition / John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Tufts University, 150 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, 617-636-3784, christina.economos@tufts.edu, (2) Food Service Department, Somerville Public Schools, 1060 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02144

Shape Up Somerville: Eat Smart. Play Hard.™ (SUS) is a three-year community-based environmental approach to obesity prevention study targeting 6-9 year olds in Somerville, MA. One of the innovative interventions is a partnership with the Somerville School Food Service Department to improve capacity, nutrition knowledge, and fruit and vegetable consumption. Several significant changes have been made with the food service department. 1) More meals have salads and fresh fruits and vegetables as a side dish. 2) Friday breakfasts feature low sugar and high fiber cereals. 3) The A La Carte snacks were changed to meet the California Dietary Guidelines for calorie percentage from fat and sugar. 4) Ice cream sales were reduced from five to one day a week. 5) Equipment was purchased to enhance healthy food preparation and presentation. 6) A social marketing campaign was created to expose students to new fruits and vegetables. The campaign consists of a "taste test" for the highlighted fruit or vegetable of the month during school breakfast or lunchtime and a nutrition education component including colorful materials for the highlighted fruit or vegetable. 7) School food service staff attended trainings on general nutrition, fad diets, knife skills, and recipe development. This innovative and school wide intervention reaches students, teachers, food service staff, parents, and school administrators through the varied components. Evaluations are being done on students' likes and dislikes of food, menu changes, and snack sales. Children and parents are also surveyed on food consumed at lunch and at snack time.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to

1.Identify methods of working with a public school food service department to offer healthier choices.
• List seven ways to increase students' nutrition knowledge and exposure to different foods through school cafeteria venues during breakfast and lunchtime.
• Recognize how to build partnerships for success in community-based intervention strategies addressing obesity prevention.

Keywords: Community-Based Partnership,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.