219033 Reaching parents of middle school students with nutrition messages through cooking classes: The Generation With Promise Family Enhancement Project

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Annie Murphy, PhD, RD , Healthy Kids Evaluation Services, Suttons Bay, MI
Jamila Stevens, MSW , Office of the Surgeon General, Michigan Department of Community Health, Detroit, MI
Stacey Withers , Office of the Surgeon General, Michigan Department of Community Health, Detroit, MI
Barbara Blum, MPH, MSW , Office of the Surgeon General, Michigan Department of Community Health, Detroit, MI
Kimberlydawn Wisdom, MD, MS , Office of the Surgeon General, Michigan Department of Community Health, Lansing, MI
Background: The Family Enhancement Program (FEP) is the parent and family component of Generation With Promise - a project that engages middle school youth to transform student health.

Purpose: To examine the impact of participation in cooking/nutrition classes on food purchasing and preparation behaviors of middle school parents in economically depressed communities.

Significance: Students learn about nutrition concepts at school but foods at home might not be consistent with healthy eating recommendations. To expect children to change eating behaviors, it is crucial to engage their parents in an experience where they learn to purchase and offer more fruits, vegetables and whole grains and fewer sweetened beverages and fried foods.

Methodology: Cooking classes with basic nutrition concepts were offered to 100+ parents and their middle-school children. Five lessons were co-taught by a professional chef and a nutrition educator. Evaluation included a needs assessment to identify topics of interest and a retrospective pre/posttest was used to identify changes in meal planning, food purchasing and food preparation practices. End-of-project interviews provided input from families on the value of the experience.

Findings: Positive change occurred for 16 of 18 behaviors assessed; food preparation skills improved for 84% of the adults. Interviews with 114 children and their parents revealed that participating in the class together improved their relationships and resulted in more time spent together preparing healthy foods for the family.

Conclusions: Involving middle school parents in nutrition education is needed for children to apply what they learn at school in the home environment. .

Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Diversity and culture

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify methods used to recruit and engage parents of middle school children in nutrition education 2. Identify changes that occured in food purchasing and preparation behaviors as a result of this program.

Keywords: Nutrition, Family Involvement

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I plan and evaluate nutrition eduation programs. I have been an evaluation consultant for 17 years and obtained more than 12 million dollars of funding for health education in Michigan.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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