Age/Population Group: Middle School

Healthy Nutrition Guidelines for LA County

The Healthy Food Procurement Initiative in Los Angeles County is a PSE Change intervention designed to improve the nutrition standards of the county’s food service contracts.  In 2011, the County of Los Angeles (“County”) Board of Supervisors adopted Healthy Food Promotion in Los Angeles County Food Service Contracts, a motion aimed at County departmental food procurement policies and practices as they relate to nutrition. The motion established a process for the County’s Department of Public Health to develop nutrition standards and/or healthy food procurement practices in new and renewing Requests for Proposals (RFP) for food service and vending contracts across County departments.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: PSE Change

CookShop

CookShop is a core nutrition education program of Food Bank For New York City, providing low-income children and adults with the knowledge and tools to adopt and enjoy a healthy diet and active lifestyle on a limited budget.  With hands-on workshops reaching over 50,000 New Yorkers across all five boroughs, CookShop teaches nutrition and physical activity information, as well as cooking skills, fostering enthusiasm for fresh, affordable fruits, vegetables and other whole foods.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Physical Activity

Intervention Type: Direct Education, PSE change

Food Hero

Food Hero is a multi-channel social marketing campaign designed to change family and community behaviors.  Food Hero includes an extensive evaluation process. The program is designed to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among low-income Oregonians, and components of the campaign have been used widely in other states and countries.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: Direct Education, PSE Change, Social Marketing

EatFresh

EatFresh.org is mobile-friendly website that was created for the SNAP-Ed population and the organizations that serve them. It provides practical resources and encouragement for individuals with varying levels of digital literacy, internet access, health awareness and culinary skills. EatFresh.org is a stand-alone indirect education resource, an extender for direct education interventions, and a useful tool for a variety of PSE strategies. Partners throughout California use EatFresh.org as a tool to direct their participants to healthy recipes during nutrition workshops, to look up preparation and storage tips for food received at food banks, and to apply for SNAP/Calfresh.  They promote the website by distributing recipe cards at health fairs and other indirect events, and refer clients to the EatFresh.org Mini Course as a flexible direct education resource. The EatFresh.org Mini Course is a free online direct education course that features 15 SNAP-Ed self-paced topics that can be completed in any order.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: Direct Education, PSE Change

Eat Together, Eat Better (ETEB)

The Eat Together, Eat Better (ETEB) is a direct education and social marketing campaign designed to promote family meals using three main themes: Celebrate Together, Cook Together, and Talk Together. ETEB resources support nutrition, parent, and youth educators in teaching the importance of family meals in “setting roots for a lifetime.” Participants discuss the benefits of family meals, discover new ways to enjoy more family meals and increase their motivation to incorporate family meals into their routine.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: Direct Education, Social Marketing

Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH)

The Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) is a PSE change and direct education intervention aiming to prevent childhood obesity in school-age children. The two main behavioral targets are helping children identify and choose healthy foods and increasing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). CATCH’s training and curriculum materials provide the information and resources teachers need to implement strategies to improve child health.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Physical Activity

Intervention Type: Direct Education, PSE Change

Champions for Change

Champions for Change is a social marketing campaign designed promote fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and food security. The goal of Champions for Change is prevent obesity and other chronic diseases. This campaign is a recreation of the former California 5 a Day Campaign, and now reflects the new federal guidelines for health.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Physical Activity, Food Insecurity/Food Assistance

Intervention Type: Social Marketing

Youth Participatory Action Research Projects (YPAR)

Youth Participatory Action Research Projects (YPAR) engage middle and high school youth (ages 12-18) in projects that address and promote nutrition and physical activity issues in their community. YPAR aims to empower youth and achieve environmental changes related to health and nutrition. An adult ally works with the youth to help mentor, support, and facilitate the youth team. Through YPAR, youth engage in leadership, critical thinking, problem solving, strategizing skills, and service learning to address their target issue related to nutrition and physical activity.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Physical Activity

Intervention Type: Direct Education, PSE Change

Eat Smart in Parks (ESIP)

Eat Smart in Parks (ESIP) is a PSE change and social marketing intervention designed to promote healthier eating in Missouri’s state and local parks. The effort includes the development of a model ESIP policy that guides parks in serving healthier options, training for state and local parks to assist them with using the guidelines, and materials to promote healthier items.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: PSE Change, Social Marketing

Health Bucks

Health Bucks is a PSE change intervention designed to distribute $2 coupons that can be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at participating farmers’ markets. By providing a financial incentive that increases purchasing power, the Health Bucks program helps residents of low-income neighborhoods increase their consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. Additionally, by making it financially possible for local farmers to participate in markets in areas that historically have been less profitable, the Health Bucks program affects the physical environment of low-income neighborhoods by increasing access to and availability of fresh produce. Health Bucks affects a neighborhood’s social environment by encouraging low-income customers and Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) participants to shop at local farmers’ markets.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: PSE Change