Non Technical Summary
Many children in Hawai'i face a double burden of food insecurity and overweight or obesity, with poor nutrition persisting into adolescence and adulthood. To address diet-related conditions in Hawai'i youth, the Tasting with Keiki (children) 4-H program provides nutrition education in early childhood through a series of interactive classroom lessons, coupled with outreach services promoting healthy food access for students' families. Led by University of Hawai'i Cooperative Extension agents from the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (UH-CTAHR), this school-based series introduces children in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade to new foods in classroom settings in Hawai'i and Kaua'i counties. The program includes cooking demonstrations, storytime, and take-home recipes focused on local crops including taro, sweet potato, and breadfruit. In partnership with The Food Basket (TFB), Hawai'i Island's Food Bank, student families will receive outreach and support to enroll in statewide healthy food access services. To encourage post-program activities around healthy local foods, teachers in participating classrooms receive curriculum books and cooking kit access, while student families can sign up for at-home lessons. Refining and expanding the Tasting with Keiki program will support wider program adoption and sustained impact for increased healthy food access and consumption in Hawai'i and Kaua'i counties.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
806	6020	3020	100%

Knowledge Area
806 - Youth Development;

Subject Of Investigation
6020 - The family and its members;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;

Goals / Objectives
The overall program goal is to expand and sustain the Tasting with Keiki 4-H program on the islands of Hawai'i and Kaua'i to support healthy food access and consumption for rural families. Program-driven changes in participants' knowledge, skill, attitude, and behavior can contribute to the long-term goal of improving community rates of diet-related health conditions. The following four objectives will help achieve program goals:Objective 1 : Refine the Tasting with Keiki program curriculum package. Existing curriculum and program materials will be revised and expanded to prepare for standardized delivery by Program Associates and wider distribution with educators. The final Tasting with Keiki program package will include all resources to replicate the project, including an educator training manual, lesson plans, printable coloring sheets, and recipes. The training manual will provide guidance and context to support independent implementation of the lessons, such as scripts for promoting positive language around food, cooking demonstration preparation, and classroom management strategies for "traveling" lessons. Subject matter experts will be consulted during the curriculum review process, such as the Hawai'i Farm to School Hui's Farm to Early Childhood coordinator and UH-CTAHR Farm to School faculty.Objective 2 : Expand implementation of the Tasting with Keiki program. The project team will hire and train three Program Associates to deliver the program on Kaua'i, the east side of Hawai'i Island, and the west side of Hawai'i Island. Program delivery at each of the three sites will reach 16 classes during the program period, totaling 960 students, 40 educators, and their families. TFB outreach about healthy food access programs will reach 1,000 families on Kaua'i and Hawai'i Island.Objective 3 : Evaluate program effectiveness. Led by Evaluator Dr. Sarah Yuan, the team will develop a survey protocol to measure impact on participating educators, students, and students' families. The Evaluator will also work with subawardee TFB to track the effects of the program's outreach services on enrollment or participation in healthy food access initiatives.Objective 4 : Sustain impact by sharing the Tasting with Keiki program package. The project team will deliver presentations to share the results of the project at a national conference (e.g., National Child Nutrition Conference) and a state conference (e.g., Hawai'i Early Childhood Conference or Hawai'i Health Welfare Summit). The team will also submit a manuscript to a peer reviewed journal (e.g., Journal of Extension). The program package will be submitted for inclusion on resource lists of relevant organizations (e.g., Hawai'i Farm to School Hui, National 4-H Healthy Living Working Group). Participating teachers will receive a digital copy of the program package with information about the resources available for conducting lessons after the project period.

Project Methods
Through this school-based 4-H nutrition education program, county-based UH-CTAHR Extension agents introduce culturally relevant foods to children in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade classrooms. Once a week for six weeks, children participate in an hour-long interactive lesson on local crops including taro, sweet potato, coconut, breadfruit, pumpkin, and Chinese cabbage. They learn about the plants, then help cook and sample a recipe using the crop. Afterward, they enjoy a book about the plant and take home the recipe. Dishes include pumpkin smoothies, poi pancakes, lu'au stew, 'ulu rundown, and chickpea coconut curry.Initially launched on Kaua'i in 2019, the program expanded to Hawai'i Island in 2022. Since the expansion, the program has reached 528 children and 27 educators (teachers and educational aides) at five elementary schools. Evaluation results demonstrated that an average of 98% of participants tried the food during the lesson and an average of 76% indicated that they liked the food prepared during class. After completing the program, 82% of participants self-reported that they like to try new food. Several educators and families indicated that program recipes became household staples, and one teacher now leads a school garden program as a result of their involvement. Over the course of the three-year project period, this proposal will expand the reach to nearly triple the current student and educator reach of the program and develop curricula and resources that incorporate student families as an additional audience to support ongoing consumption of local fruits and vegetables at the household level.To support nutrition for student families, TFB staff will ensure all participating households receive information on statewide food access programs, including DA BUX local produce discounts available at 59 partner grocery stores and food hubs and SNAP Outreach Program eligibility and enrollment assistance. Additionally, staff will promote programs of statewide partners, including the local produce home delivery program operated by the non-profit Malama Kaua'i, the USDA Expanded Food and Nutrition Program (EFNEP), the USDA Summer Food Service Program (known locally as "Kaukau 4 Keiki"), and USDA Summer-EBT Program.