Setting: Farmers markets

A Taste of African Heritage

A Taste of African Heritage (ATOAH) is a direct education cooking and nutrition curriculum designed to increase consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and spices and reduce salt; improve cooking skills and nutritional literacy; reduce diet-related health disparities in the African American community using heritage as a motivator for health; and reframe nutrition and culinary education in a way that is culturally relevant to participants and honors African American’s culture, traditions, and contributions. African Americans are too often told that the foods they grew up eating are unhealthy and that poor health is a part of their heritage. A Taste of African Heritage (ATOAH) flips the script by celebrating the culinary legacy and often-unsung cultural ownership of healthy eating for people of African descent. Consisting of six 2-hour sessions which feature healthy foods (like leafy greens, whole grains, and beans) from across the African diaspora, the accessible six-session format can be easily scaled into existing community health infrastructure, yet it is immersive enough to produce meaningful results. 

Please Note: If using this curriculum with SNAP-Ed audiences, MyPlate must also be introduced and discussed along with the curriculum.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating 

Intervention Type: Direct Education

Steps to Health’s PSE Toolkit: The Ingredients for a Welcoming Farmers Market

The Ingredients for a Welcoming Farmers Market Toolkit is a PSE change intervention that uses best practices to contribute to a more welcoming farmers market environment for all community members. The Toolkit outlines a 7-step process designed to assist with data collection, analysis, and action planning. The baseline assessment determines whether the market is implementing the healthy practice in question or if the market needs some improvement in that area. The resource guide helps staff better understand why questions are included in the assessment, and how the market can improve its practices related to each question. Using the Community Food Survey included in the Toolkit, staff collect responses from community members to better understand why individuals might not attend the farmer’s market or what foods they might be interested in buying at the market.  

Target Behavior: Food Insecurity/Food Assistance 

Intervention Type: PSE Change 

The Farmers Market Food Navigator Program

The Farmers Market Food Navigator Program is a direct education and policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change intervention designed to increase use of farmers markets to purchase affordable produce, increase frequency of vegetables consumed by farmers market shoppers, and improve access to farmers markets through PSE initiatives. The program follows a social ecological framework and has four key components: 

  • Conduct community outreach to build awareness of farmers markets and increase awareness of the food assistance programs available 
  • Work with farmers market managers and vendors to implement policy, systems, and environmental changes that are supportive of healthy behaviors 
  • Help shoppers effectively use their food budgets at farmers markets through tours that may include introductions to vendors, tips, and support 
  • Provide resources and experiential nutrition education to shoppers at farmers markets, including tastings and cooking demonstrations 

Food Navigators attend a one-day training and are equipped with a program Playbook that provides direction on how to carry out each of the four key components of their role, as well as provides guidance to farmers market managers and community partner organizations. 

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Food Insecurity/Food Assistance, Other: Food Resource Management

Intervention Type: Direct Education, PSE Change

The State Nutrition Action Council: Farmers Market Initiative

The State Nutrition Action Council: Farmers Market Initiative (SNAC) is policy, systems, and environmental change intervention designed to:

  • Increase knowledge of Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) programs available at farmers markets.
  • Increase knowledge of locally grown fruits and vegetables and how to use, cook, and store them.
  • Increase the use of Market Match and CalFresh redemption vouchers to support low-income shoppers in maximizing their purchasing power.
  • Increase state and local partnerships of FNS funded programs to support a welcoming market environment that accepts multiple FNS food benefits. 

In 2018, SNAC focused on increasing low-income shoppers’ utilization of their food and nutrition program benefits at local Farmers Markets, and in 2019, SNAC expanded its Farmers Market Initiative (FMI) into additional counties and markets, as well as added an on-site navigator component. The navigator model was tested at three markets, and the CalFresh Healthy Living (CFHL) Navigators were found to address barriers to shopping at farmers markets, including lack of knowledge and comfort using food assistance benefits. CFHL Navigators provided support to shoppers by distributing materials, promoting accepted FNS benefits, providing information on how to use FNS benefits, explaining Market Match, and providing interactive nutrition and health education activities on-site at the market for six consecutive weeks. The FMI has continued to expand into new counties in California since 2019 and increases in food benefit redemptions at FMI markets has sustained. 

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Food Insecurity/Food Assistance

Intervention Type: PSE Change

Veggie Van (VV) Toolkit

The Veggie Van (VV) Toolkit is a policy, systems, and environmental change intervention designed to:

  • Increase access to healthy, affordable fruits and vegetables in lower income and/or food insecure communities
  • Help the target population improve their diets through skill building
  • Address the interplay between the physical food environment, individual perceptions of that environment, and self-efficacy
  • Address multiple dimensions of access to fresh produce for lower-income and under-served communities, including availability, affordability, accessibility (geographic and financial), and accommodation
  • Improve self-efficacy for finding, purchasing, and preparing fruits and vegetables or other healthy foods via cooking and nutrition education interventions

VV achieves these goals via mobile farmers markets that present cooking demonstrations, recipes, taste tests, and nutrition education to help customers better use the produce they receive. VV mobile markets also accept SNAP benefits, electronic benefits (EBT), and other relevant local food incentive and benefit programs, as well as employ a bundling model in addition to a la carte purchasing. The bundling model allows the VV mobile markets to sell more items at a lower cost and expose participants to a greater variety of fruits and vegetables. Markets operate a minimum of 10 months out of the year and typically source produce locally or regionally.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Food Insecurity/Food Assistance

Intervention Type: PSE Change

PSE Readiness Assessment and Decision Instrument (PSE READI)

The PSE READI intervention was designed with guidance from SNAP-Ed and public health practitioners in Ohio to promote successful implementation of community nutrition Policy, System, and Environmental (PSE) programs as a broader strategy for obesity prevention. Practitioners can take the online PSE Readiness Assessment and Decision Instrument (READI) to assess their community’s readiness and capacity to implement community nutrition PSE changes. The PSE READI can be completed by an individual or the practitioner can invite community members to share their input in a team assessment. The six different PSE READIs currently available include: Farmers’ Markets, Healthy Food Retail, Farm to School, Healthy Eating Policies in Childcare, Food Pantries and K-12 Schools. After completion of your PSE READI, a report will be generated with three recommendations. These recommendations will help practitioners and teams plan next steps and guide community nutrition PSE implementation tailored to local community readiness and capacity. The PSE READI website includes a curated resource library with over 1,000 toolkits, guides, and other evidence-based PSE resources that provide guidance to help end-users put into action their community nutrition PSE implementation.  

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating  
Intervention Type: PSE Change 

Families Eating Smart and Moving More (FESMM)

Families Eating Smart, Moving More (FESMM) is a direct education intervention designed to improve dietary intake, increase daily physical activity, and improve home food safety practices, food resource management, and food security. FESMM is a curriculum package that is evidence-based and hands-on. The intervention provides interactive nutrition education sessions that were developed based on a community needs assessment of existing data showing diet and physical activity behaviors, food resource management skills, food safety practices, and food security practices among low-income, low-resource adults living in NC. The lessons in the curriculum include recipes along with physical activities that help participants learn simple solutions to eat smart and be active every day. FESMM addresses key behaviors linked to obesity by helping families learn how to increase fruit and vegetable intake, eat together as a family, reduce screen/sedentary time, control portion sizes, and limit consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. 

 

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and Reducing Screen Time  
Intervention Type: Direct Education 

Heart Smarts

Heart Smarts is a direct education, PSE change, and social marketing intervention that combines healthy food access, nutrition education, and health and social services for individuals to improve their health and reduce their risk of diet-related disease. The program offers nine lessons for use in retail environments covering topics like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, sodium, sugar-sweetened beverages and making healthy choices along with nutrition-focused tip sheets. Each lesson includes taste tests, recipes, healthy food incentive coupons* and health screenings* (for blood pressure, weight checks, and healthy lifestyle counseling and referrals). Technical assistance and training is provided to site staff and storeowners to support PSE changes including healthier stores, businesses and communities.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: Direct Education, Social Marketing, PSE Change

*These Heart Smarts components (health screenings, including blood pressure and BMI; counseling and referrals; and healthy food incentive coupons help participants choose heart-healthy items at the site) are not allowable by SNAP-Ed. Heart Smarts lessons and food tastings can be used without these additional components. Screenings and coupons can be funded by grants or partnered organizations.

Healthy Choices for Every Body Adult Nutrition Education Curriculum

The Healthy Choices for Every Body (HCEB) is a direct education intervention designed to improve diet quality, physical activity, and food safety practices, as well as enhance food security and food resource management skills. HCEB incorporates lessons and activities that recognize participants’ experiences, skills, and knowledge; explains why, what, and how the nutrition education concepts presented relate to real-life situations; and includes active learning activities, hands-on practice, and demonstrations to help participants understand and apply content.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and Reducing Screen Time, Food Insecurity/Food Assistance, Other: Food resource management skills, food safety practices

Intervention Type: Direct Education

VeggieBook, a mobile app for Android and iOS smartphones (VB)

VeggieBook is a social marketing and direct education intervention app that is designed to help users choose customized recipes and healthy eating tips which ultimately lead to increased vegetable-based preparation for meals at home. The app invites a user to create a new VeggieBook or SecretsBook. VeggieBooks are sets of recipes, each set built around 1 of 10 vegetables. A series of questions posed by the app helps users select recipes and food preparation tips of interest. Recipes use simple ingredients most households have and have been tested for user-appeal. SecretsBooks are 5 sets of illustrated ideas about food use and acquisition–Secrets to Better Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, Snacks, and Shopping. The app’s emphasis on users’ choices promotes just-in-time learning.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Food Insecurity/Food Assistance

Intervention Type: Direct Education, Social Marketing

FNV

The FNV Campaign is a social marketing and PSE change intervention that aims to present fruits and vegetables in a way that is both fun and cool, ultimately shifting attitudes, behavior and social norms relative to healthy eating. The objectives of the FNV Campaign are to create positive attitudes toward fruits and vegetables and to drive increased consumption of fruits and vegetables in targeted communities amongst SNAP eligible audiences. Targeted at millennials, the FNV campaign uses humor and the power of local and/or national celebrity to voluntarily shift consumer behavior toward healthier dietary choices. The campaign’s recommended approach includes surround sound marketing through billboards, retail, and transit media placements and in advertising buys on social and digital media, but it can be customized and tailored based on individual campaign needs.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: Social Marketing, PSE Change

Common Threads: Small Bites Program

The Small Bites Program is a direct education intervention designed to increase nutrition knowledge, vegetable consumption, and variety of vegetables consumed. The curriculum teaches students about nutrition and healthy cooking through a series of eight (or more) 1-hour lessons combining nutrition and knife-free cooking. In every lesson, students prepare a healthy snack, using recipes that meet USDA Guidelines, and provide opportunities to learn about and reinforce nutrition concepts and cooking skills. The lessons are grade-level banded, suitable for the in-school or after-school setting and are designed to support core content learning in math, English Language Arts, and science.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: Direct Education

The Early Childhood Program Wellness Policy Workbook

The Early Childhood Program Wellness Policy Workbook is designed to promote the adoption of wellness policies and implementation of best practices at the center level to create cultures of health within child care facilities, which positively impact early childhood providers’ knowledge and skills about healthy eating and physical activity (PA), provide tools and resources for child care facilities to help parents and families increase healthy eating and PA, and expose children to healthy foods and PA at a young age. It helps centers learn how to approach these issues and embed best practices into their ongoing activities to create a culture of health and wellness within their environments.

Target Behavior: Breastfeeding, Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and Reducing Screen Time, Other: staff wellness

Intervention Type: Direct Education, 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 thousands of 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

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

Cooking Matters at the Store

Cooking Matters at the Store is a free program that works with families to stretch their food budgets so their children get healthy meals at home. Cooking Matters at the Store is a conversation about skills that helps adults learners get the most nutrition for their food dollars.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Food Insecurity/Food Assistance

Intervention Type: Direct Education

Healthy Kindergarten Initiative

The Healthy Kindergarten Initiative (KI) is a direct education and PSE Change intervention that includes an integrated, holistic approach to educating children and their caregivers about making healthy food choices and being physically active. Education is coupled with access; families are connected to local, healthy foods through innovative ways and community partnerships. Lessons integrating nutrition and healthy habits were developed to fit Pennsylvania educational standards; however, they can be adapted to meet the educational standards for other states. Learning how food grows and who grows it in combination with frequent food tastings and hands-on gardening may help increase fruit and vegetable consumption among young children. 

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Physical Activity

Intervention Type: Direct Education, PSE Change

Faithful Families Thriving Communities (Faithful Families)

Faithful Families Thriving Communities (Faithful Families) is a direct education and PSE change intervention that builds on the connection between health and faith at multiple levels of the socioecological model – through individuals, interpersonal relationships, organizational policies and practices and environment, and the broader community. Over the course of the program, Faithful Families engages each faith community in direct peer education, policy and environmental supports, and community engagement. Faithful Families can be used with any religious tradition. Trained lay leaders from individual faith communities are paired with nutrition/physical activity educators to co-teach lessons and deliver the program. 

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

Intervention Type: Direct Education, PSE Change

Health Bucks

The Health Bucks program is a PSE change intervention that distributes $2 coupons redeemable for fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables at New York City (NYC) farmers markets. Health Bucks increase purchasing power and help New Yorkers with low incomes access fresh fruits and vegetables. Health Bucks are distributed several ways, including to customers at farmers markets paying with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The Health Bucks SNAP incentive increases markets’ SNAP sales and makes markets more profitable(1). This makes it financially possible for local farmers to participate in markets in areas that historically have been less profitable and affects the physical environment by increasing access to and availability of fresh produce. Health Bucks affects a neighborhood’s social environment by incentivizing to shop at local farmers markets.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: PSE Change

Cooking Matters

Cooking Matters is helping end childhood hunger by inspiring families to make healthy, affordable food choices. Cooking Matters teaches participants to shop smarter, use nutrition information to make healthier choices and cook delicious, affordable meals. Cooking Matters provides professional-level curricula and instructional materials, and evaluation, while local program partners provide hands-on, grassroots-level resources, program customizations and relationships that are best addressed on the local level.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Food Insecurity/Food Assistance

Intervention Type: Direct Education

ReFresh

The ReFresh curriculum is a direct education intervention designed to encourage students to consume more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and to be more physically active. Composed of a series of eight nutrition education units, ReFresh is designed for implementation in fourth and fifth grade classrooms throughout the school year from October through May. Lessons align with Common Core courses such as math and language arts and offer opportunities for recipe preparation, taste testing, discussion, and reflection. Throughout the ReFresh curriculum, the following behaviorally-focused messages are emphasized:

  • Make half your plates fruits and vegetables
  • Make at least half your grains whole grains
  • Increase physical activity
  • Maintain calorie balance

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: Direct Education

Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program

Farm to school is a Policy, Systems, and Environmental (PSE) change and direct education intervention designed to improve access to local foods in pre-k to 12th grade school settings and provides education opportunities that encourage healthy eating behaviors. Farm to school empowers children and their families to make informed food choices while strengthening the local economy and contributing to vibrant communities. Each farm to school program is unique, but often combines elements of local procurement or serving food from local producers in meals and snacks, alongside food, nutrition, and agriculture education in the classroom and beyond, such as the cafeteria and school garden. 

Policy, Systems, and Environmental (PSE) backing for farm to school make farm to school practices the norm in classrooms and cafeterias throughout the year. Policy efforts focus on integrating farm to school supports into organizational statements and positions, such as procurement policies, wellness policies, and resolutions. Systems change include those that make organizational procedures and programs more supportive of farm to school. Examples include hiring farm to school or garden staff, partnering with distributors to carry and label local product, creating a grant program to fund school gardens, and building local or State-wide farm to school coalitions. Environmental changes are observable in your physical or social surroundings. Farm to school environmental supports may include, but are not limited to, local foods promotional and marketing materials, school gardens/farms, and food systems courses and classes. 

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: Direct Education, PSE Change

Pick it! Try it! Like it! (PTL)

Pick it! Try it! Like it! (PTL) is a direct education and social marketing intervention which aims to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables by providing consumer information on selecting and preparing fresh produce. PTL materials are filled with tips for selecting, exploring, and cooking a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Factual information complements simple, healthy, and tested recipes. Integrated lessons with food preparation activities assists with increasing knowledge and skills for all ages. Colorful fact sheets, recipe cards, and educational videos provide educators and families with fun, engaging tools to enhance any dietary curriculum in a variety of settings.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: Direct Education, Social Marketing 

Healthy Behaviors Initiative (HBI)

The Healthy Behaviors Initiative (HBI) is an after school (AS) program designed to enable and recognize on-site staff to offer practical, user-friendly and effective nutrition, physical activity (PA), and food security intervention activities. HBI is a multi-level effort for the children, site staff, sponsoring organizations, and the multi-county Superintendent regions to complement in-school and community resources. A key to success in the infrastructure is the opportunity for AS programs to become certified by the Center for Collaborative Solutions as a HBI Learning Center. Learning Centers provide modeling, peer support, mentoring, and exchange among AS sites in their geographic areas.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating; Physical Activity

Intervention Type: PSE Change

Michigan Harvest of the Month (MiHOTM)

Michigan Harvest of the Month™ (HOTM) is a multi-level intervention designed to increase consumption of and access to fruits and vegetables; link child-focused nutrition education in schools with adult-focused supports in community-based food access settings; increase consumption of locally grown produce by connecting growers to their communities in school, child care, worksite, retail, farmers market, health care, and emergency food settings. HOTM features ready-to-go supplemental nutrition education materials that can easily be integrated into the core curriculum and are aligned on the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: Direct Education, Social Marketing, PSE Change

Power Play! Campaign, School Idea & Resource Kit (SIRK)

The Power Play! Campaign, School Idea & Resource Kit (SIRK) is a community-based, social marketing initiative administered by local health departments and implemented in schools. The Power Play! Campaign is designed to improve children’s short-term health and also reduce their long-term risk of chronic diseases—especially cancer, heart disease, and obesity—by increasing fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity (PA) among ethnically diverse, low-income children. The Power Play! Campaign implements activities and messaging in environments where children live, learn, and play. It includes both school and afterschool models that provide low-resource sites with free nutrition education lessons and PA energizers, cafeteria-based promotions, and youth engagement projects.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Physical Activity

Intervention Type: Direct Education, PSE Change, Social Marketing

Just Say Yes to Fruits and Vegetables (JSY)

Just Say Yes to Fruits and Vegetables (JSY) is a direct education and PSE change intervention designed to promote health and reduce long-term chronic disease risks through the promotion of increased fruit and vegetable consumption. Using nutrition education workshops, food demonstrations, and promotion of healthy food pantry best practices JSY works to ensure SNAP-eligible adults and families in New York eat nutritious foods, make the most of their food budgets, prepare foods in a safe manner, increase physical activity, and drink healthier beverages. 

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: Direct Education, PSE Change