Youth engagement strategies to develop peer leaders in school communities

Peer to peer networks among youth are a powerful strategy to communicate and mentor healthy food choices and skills for the 14 to 18 year old age group. FamilyCook Productions and its network of community partners such as Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Urban Assembly and HealthCorps have developed a replicable ‘Teen Iron Chef Leadership” program that was rolled out in over 60 schools in 10 states in 2009-10. Students could select leadership opportunities in one of three areas and become: 1) School Food Ambassadors, addressing the quality and appeal of food served at their school; 2) Facilitators in Training, teaching what they've learned about cooking to peers or younger students in their community; and/or 3) Teen Iron Chef Headliners, where they plan and execute special events or workshops involving cooking and nutrition education.

Qualitative data were collected from the students in the 60 schools to determine: 1) the extent to which taking on a leadership role affected the students' own dietary behaviors; and 2) whether or not students are sharing what they learned about nutrition at home and among peer as part of their daily life; and 3) whether the peer leaders inspired non-participating students to improve their dietary behaviors. The data collection included: entries in students' self-reflective diaries about nutritional ‘challenges' they've attempted and how these challenges affected their energy, mood, appetite, sleep etc.; student's self-assessment about their abilities to be a leader in a youth food movement; changes in their thinking using a ‘I used to think…. Now I think… “ construct to evaluate how their thinking changed, among others. The project has been evaluated using the RE-AIM framework and will describe what changes the Teen Iron Chefs report with regard to confidence and perceived leadership skills, as well as how they are positively impacting their peers and families.