280026
Farm to school programs: Evaluating the development, perceptions, and benefits
Methods: In the 2010-2011 school year, nine Wisconsin AmeriCorps F2S schools (with 0-3 prior years of F2S) participated in an evaluation of F2S programs; 1117 3rd- to 5th-graders participated. Students completed pre/post (fall/spring) FV Knowledge and Attitudes (KA) surveys, Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ), and four-day Lunch Tray Photo Observations (LTPO). Five schools submitted heights and weights. Outcomes were analyzed at baseline by prior years of F2S, and for school-year change.
Results: KA scores indicated increases in children's willingness to try new FV and in knowledge, both with increasing prior program exposure and across the year. Although there was no effect in overall dietary patterns (FFQ), lunch FV availability was favorably influenced by prior program years and increased across the year (LTPO). Additionally, there were increases in the percent of trays with at least one FV item and some consumption. BMI z-scores did not change overall from baseline to follow-up, but students with the most prior F2S had lower BMI z-scores.
Discussion: F2S programming improved mediators hypothesized to impact long-term FV consumption, and decreased the proportion of children lacking favorable FV behaviors at school lunch. Longer-term data are needed to further assess F2S programs' long-term impacts on children's total dietary behaviors and health.
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Identify the childhood eating behaviors most impacted by Farm-to-School programming.
Compare data analyses paradigms most sensitive to effects of Farm-to-School programming.
Obtain supporting data to advocate for expanded Farm-to-School programming.
Keywords: Food and Nutrition, School-Based Programs
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the primary evaluator of the data collected for the Wisconsin AmeriCorps Farm to School evaluation. Among my scientific interests is the development of lifestyle- and environmental-based strategies for overweight and obesity prevention.
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.