Public and private partnerships expand nutrition education opportunities among low-income households

Recent studies indicate that low-income households have a higher prevalence of health conditions related to poor nutrition than households with higher incomes. Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline (OFL) teaches families how to prepare healthy low-cost meals and get the most nutrition out of a limited budget.

OFL's cooking-based courses teach nutrition, food safety, and food budgeting to low-income adults, children, and teens. Multi-session courses are led by interdisciplinary teams of culinary and nutrition volunteers and include hands-on activities and discussion that help participants evaluate their current food choices and barriers to healthy food access.

Local OFL programs are currently run by 18 nonprofits in 15 states, primarily food banks and community health organizations. OFL partners coordinate classes with community-based agencies serving clients at risk of hunger and poor nutrition and work closely with nutrition assistance programs including WIC and Food Stamps. OFL is included is seven states food stamp nutrition education plans.

During the 2006 program year, 407 class series were offered to 4,417 participants. Recent analysis of adult and teen program graduates found that 89% improved their nutrition practices such as eating variety of foods and using the nutrition facts label, 81% improved eating habits such as getting the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables each day, and 62% improved their food resource management such as comparing prices and using a grocery list. As a result, OFL graduates are better able to cope in their current food environments and more likely to embrace changes made through policy.