Publication/Revision Year of most recent version: 2018

Food Smarts

Food Smarts is a direct education intervention that is designed to support healthy behavior change in the areas of healthy eating, food safety, cooking, food waste reduction and food resource management. In 2022, Leah’s Pantry released an updated version of Food Smarts that incorporates principles of trauma-informed nutrition.  Food Smarts is a flexible, learner-centered, multi-session nutrition and cooking program with several available lesson plans to fit the needs of a variety of settings. A kitchen is not required for the implementation of the intervention, but participants can be engaged in simple recipe preparation as an instructional strategy. The adult curriculum of Food Smarts is available in English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. The youth curriculum is available in English.  

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating  
Intervention Type: Direct Education 

Nutrition Pantry Program (NPP)

The Nutrition Pantry Program (NPP) is a trauma-informed PSE change intervention designed to improve the food environment and client engagement within food pantries and other charitable distribution environments. NPP provides implementers with training and resources to support pantry staff in increasing access to and utilization of healthy food by pantry clients, increasing engagement of clients and other stakeholders, and sustaining healthy changes over time.

Implementers are encouraged to follow a four-stage process: Planning, Needs & Current Work Assessment, Implementation, and Certification & Maintenance. SNAP-Ed implementers collaborate with food pantry staff, volunteers, and other stakeholders to use the NPP framework and resources to organize and complete the intervention. NPP uses the Healthy Food Pantry Assessment (HFPAT), a Client Needs Assessment questionnaire, and client feedback strategies to assess pantry needs and readiness. Based on the assessment, a work plan is co-developed by the implementer, site staff, and/or volunteers. The pantry or implementer may amend the work plan at any time due to changing needs and goals of the pantry. An extensive toolkit supports a variety of PSE changes. Pantries completing the NPP process are recognized as Bronze, Silver, or Gold Certified Nutrition Pantries and celebrated in the community.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Food Insecurity/Food Assistance  
Intervention Type: PSE Change 

10 Tips for Adults

10 Tips for Adults (10 Tips) is a multi-level direct education intervention designed to reinforce messages related to increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, increasing physical activity, consuming more water, and providing SNAP eligible adults with the skills to purchase healthy foods on a budget. The curriculum can be used in a variety of community-based settings frequented by SNAP eligible adults that complement and reinforce PSE interventions such as community gardens, healthy retail, worksite wellness, and healthcare clinical community linkages. The curriculum was designed to be implemented by qualified, professional Nutrition Educators and includes two distinct, but complementary, four-session series: Series A: Choosing MyPlate and Series B: Eating Better on a Budget. 10 Tips works to increase participants’ perceptions of the importance of a healthy diet and decrease their perceived barriers to shopping, cooking, and eating healthy on a budget. Each session includes a recipe demonstration and tasting to introduce participants to new healthy foods and simple cooking techniques to reduce perceived barriers to preparing healthy foods. 

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and Reducing Screen Time, Other: Budget-savvy shopping strategies   
Intervention Type: Direct Education 

SNAP-Ed Soccer for Success (SfS)

Soccer for Success (SfS) is a direct education intervention designed to improve fitness levels of participants, improve nutritional knowledge and behavior of participants (and their families), and improve youth development outcomes of participants. SfS helps kids establish healthy habits and develop critical life skills through trained coach-mentors. Our multifaceted model combines structured physical activity, nutritional education, family engagement resources, and coach-mentoring best practices. The nutrition component meets USDA standards. SfS lessons are taught 3 times a week for 12 or 24 weeks by trained coach-mentors. SfS’ curriculum provides coach-mentors with tools to integrate nutrition lessons into fun activities. As a result, children are constantly engaged and challenged to incrementally increase both their level of physical activity and their understanding of healthy lifestyles. To further address the social determinants of health, we use SfS as a hub for wrap-around health services. The SfS model incorporates community engagement days, featuring health resources from local community-based organization partners.

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.

Together, We Inspire Smart Eating (WISE)

Together, We Inspire Smart Eating (WISE) is a direct education intervention designed to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in children in early education programs as well as in the home. WISE delivers developmentally appropriate food experiences and promotes behavior change through its 3 components: classroom curricula, parent engagement content, and educator training. The intervention is designed to be delivered across a 9-month term with food experiences and supporting activities executed weekly. This program creates positive changes in child and family eating behaviors that align with the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations, specifically, increasing the number of servings of fruit and vegetables consumed and an increase in a variety of fruits and vegetables consumed. Social media content is available for programs interested in using the content to engage families and early childhood educators in the WISE program goals.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating

Intervention Type: Direct Education

Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do It! (MEND)

Mind, Exercise, Nutrition…Do it! (MEND) program is a direct education intervention designed to manage overweight, obesity in children 2-13 years old and their families by improving health, fitness, and self-esteem. The MEND programs combine physical activity, healthy eating, and behavior change to facilitate safe, effective weight management and lasting changes in lifestyle. Programs run for 10 weeks and the child and at least one parent or primary caregiver must attend. MEND programs help families in the following areas: 

● Mind – improving children’s self-esteem and supporting families to change their behaviors around eating and activity 

● Exercise – engaging in regular physical activity that is fun 

● Nutrition – learning about good nutrition and healthy eating 

● Do it! – taking action to make healthy lifestyle changes long term 

The newest program, Healthy Together, for children ages 6–13 years and their families, is based on MEND 7-13 but with simplified delivery and focus on critical content. Healthy Together can be delivered by one person and is ideal for smaller groups and spaces. 

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and Reducing Screen Time 

Intervention Type: Direct Education

Brighter Bites

Brighter Bites is a school-based health promotion program designed to change the behavior of children and their families to prevent childhood obesity and achieve long-term health outcomes. Brighter Bites includes: a) weekly produce distribution, b) nutrition education in schools and for parents, and c) a weekly fun food recipe demonstrations and tasting experiences for children and their parents throughout the school year. Brighter Bites is implemented for up to 16 weeks during the school year and up to 8 weeks during the summer. Participating schools are also trained to implement the evidence-based Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) curriculum other evidence-based programs that promote healthy food choices and physical activity. This comprehensive approach supports the shift in the culture of each school and families within that school toward being healthier and more focused on nutrition and healthy living.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Food Insecurity/Food Assistance

Intervention Type: Direct Education, PSE Change

My TIME to Eat Healthy and Move More (My TIME)

My TIME to Eat Healthy and Move More (My TIME) is a direct education intervention designed to actively engage parents and children in a co-learning process as they experience how to make healthy food choices and become more physically active. Instead of telling parents what is best for their family, My TIME offers hands-on activities to draw on their unique experiences.This facilitates an educational opportunity that encourages the learners to reflect, share, and ultimately identify goals and actions to create a healthier family. T. I. M. E. symbolizes the four core principles of the program: Together, Inspire, Motivate, and Empower. Over the course of a month, the parent and child work together with the home visitor to learn practical tips to eat healthily and move more. Taste-testing activities are used to inspire healthy eating. Simple ideas promoting daily exercise are offered to motivate parents and children to move more. Lastly, My TIME empowers families to stay connected to the goals and opportunities that they identified to improve the health of their family.

Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and Reducing Screen Time

Intervention Type: Direct Education

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