Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This pilot study was implemented with multi-ethnic Head Start children (ages 3-5 years) in 19 classrooms across 11 Western Massachusetts sites. This project developed and tested research-robust tools and methodologies investigating the impact of classroom-based puppet (farm animal friends themed) stories incorporating multi-sensory exploration (sight, touch, smell, sound and taste) on young children's willingness to explore and try a variety of locally available fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition to classrooms assessments involving pre-post consumption of the targeted fruits and vegetables in a early childhood classroom setting in Head Start, families were introduced to child-friendly recipes highlighting locally available familiar and unfamiliar fruit and vegetable varieties in order to promote consumption and incorporation into family meals. Families collaborated in recipe-building activities and took home recipes, vegetables and grocery gift cards. The preliminary study developed and piloted family event and classroom observation checklists, Sensory Exploration and Willingness Rating Scale, and Pre-Post Fruit-Veggie Weight recording logs. Future assessments will be utilized to (1) quantify changes in children's acceptance measures of the target varieties of fruits and vegetables, from baseline (T0) to three-month (T1) and six-month follow-up (T2) and (2) document changes in children's willingness-to-try a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in a Head Start setting. Given that culturally sensitive nutrition education intervention is a primary goal, future research will investigate what effects exposure to recipe-building at family events, using locally available vegetable varieties will have on families' willingness to try, and intent to purchase, prepare, and serve varieties of fruits and vegetables at home. Teaching and Mentoring Activities: Fourteen nutrition undergraduate students successfully completed their independent studies under the mentorship of the Project PI Dr. Kannan. Two Nutrition graduate students mentored by Dr. Kannan were supported on this research and received HATCH-MAFF Research Assistantship in Fall 2011, and graduated in May 2012. All students underwent rigorous training and refresher training under the mentorship of Dr. Kannan for research-robust implementation of the project in Head Start classrooms and family events. Events: Two research presentations at the April 2012 EB Meeting in San Diego. Throughout the project, training and refresher training sessions were conducted highlighting the implementation of classroom activities and family events. In addition, family events were hosted at all participating Head Start sites. Dissemination: Utilizing the FruitZotic research project (Kannan et al., 2011; JNEB 2011; 43(3):205-206) materials, nutrition education materials (lesson plans, recipes etc) were tailored for MAFF and delivered to the multi-ethnic Head Start sites. Products: Nutrition assessment materials were tailored to address the preschool age children in the Head Start sites. Materials and recipes were developed to meet the needs of the Spanish speaking segment of the families enrolled in MAFF. PARTICIPANTS: Srimathi Kannan, PhD. Project Principal Investigator (PI) and Team Member Jean Anliker, PhD, RD. Co-Investigator (Co-I) Furthermore, Dr. Chrystal Wittcopp., MD (Baystate Medical Center Dept of Pediatrics) and Dr. Ambika Krishnakumar served as members of the Mass Farm Fresh research project's advisory committee upon invitation by Dr. Kannan along with such invited service provided by the participating Head Start Nutritionist, site supervisors, teachers and family advocates. In addition, William Miller, PhD., was consulted for the purpose of mapping a preliminary evaluation matrix for initial phase pilot project. As noted in this report and in the 2011 project report, 14 undergraduate students from the Nutrition Department and Graduate Students (graduate students were hired as Research Assistants on the project in Fall 2011) from the Nutrition Department were trained by Dr. Kannan in the study protocols including weekly pre-post classroom assessments, implementation of weekly lessons in Head Start classrooms, and for observations as well as meal planning and preparation assistance during the Head Start family events on behalf of Mass Farm Fresh. Partner Organization: Head Start sites in select Western Massachusetts locations; Suzanne Severin., B.S., LN., Head Start Nutritionist. Site Supervisors, Classroom Teachers and Families TARGET AUDIENCES: Mass Farm Fresh has successfully reached the under-served segment of the U.S population through collaborative community-based research partnership with Head Start sites in the study area. This research study has established preschool Head Start classrooms and Early Head Start in rural Western Massachusetts as a unique early education environment for the promotion of local F&V in young learners, with the long term goal of addressing potential risk factors for pediatric obesity and other chronic diseases. Sensory play approaches focused on fruits and vegetables were implemented in multi-ethnic culturally diverse groups of preschool children enrolled in Head Start. The multi-sensory nutrition education and intervention project activities and assessment materials were further tailored to meet the nutrition and health needs of the Spanish speaking children and families enrolled in Mass Farm Fresh. The research project's multi-sensory nutrition education and intervention efforts specifically were targeted towards young children's current and future intent for expanded acceptance, in addition to addressing their willingness-to-try, preferences and consumption of fruits and vegetables in the Head Start classroom setting. Project activities were designed to address the biomedically and nutritionally at risk segment of the U.S population, specifically children and families in a Head Start setting. Considering the food allergy scenarios in participating classrooms, fruits and vegetables were selected in consultation with the Head Start site nutritionist, and site supervisors and teachers and families. Weekly lessons promoted a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables using fun and playful approaches. Supporting family events and team recipe-building activities hosted in Head Start sites enabled the target audience's (children and families) recognition of fruits and vegetables (raw, and different forms in recipes). Knowledge of respective sensory properties/attributes improved, thereby potentially positively impacting sensory fruit-vegetable nutrition knowledge and awareness - although this association needs to be empirically evaluated in future work. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Building on the FruitZotic project previously developed and implemented by the Mass Farm Fresh PI. Dr. Srimathi Kannan, the classroom component of Mass Farm Fresh research was implemented as planned, with the use of farm-animal themed puppet stories, book reading, five-senses song and interactive classroom play-oriented activities (examples: beet stamps, passport fruit-vegetable stickers., mystery bag vegetables etc). One modification made was with reference to selection of fruits and vegetables introduced in the Mass Farm Fresh research project. The initial plan was to incorporate local exotic varieties of fruits and vegetables. However due to limited seasonal availability of exotic varieties and considering the price range of exotic fruits and vegetables using local produce assessment mapping, and following consultation with the Head Start site nutritionist, site supervisors, teachers and family advocates, it was decided that vegetable pairings with similar growth patterns (root, pods etc) would be introduced on a weekly basis - as a replacement for the exotic within-fruit or within-vegetable variety. Furthermore, teachers and site supervisors in one of the sites expressed input that a pilot indoor gardening project with culinary herb seeds and a mango seed would enhance the delivery of the Mass Farm Fresh lessons while incorporating culturally familiar food choices among the children and their families. The indoor gardening activity was incorporated in one of the sites and the children enjoyed this supervised learning activity which was implemented under the sensory exploration premise of the project.
Impacts
Based on our preliminary analysis for children enrolled in the study utilizing the classroom resources and tools described above, children's pre-post willingness-to-explore the sensory attributes (taste profile, color, shape, texture, growth pattern) improved significantly across the the variety of fruits and vegetables introduced. Acceptability shifted positively and the proportion of children "willing to try" increased for several vegetables (egs: pea pods, red bell pepper, and broccoli). Results showed baseline variability in acceptance and demonstrated favorable post-intervention shifts in sensory-exploration focused acceptability among vegetables in Head Start children. Overall, children's willingness-to-try appeared to vary by sensory attributes of the vegetables. The children in the classrooms successfully followed along the continuum of the lessons and enthusiastically participated in multi-sensory explorations of the fruits and vegetables. The multi-sensory play approach successfully activated children's senses while providing exposure to a variety of local vegetables in this setting. The research aims and classroom based nutrition activities (passport to Mass Farm Fresh, circle-time farm animal puppets themed stories guided by facilitators) focused on multi-sensory education interventions aligned with state standards for early learning and with NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria (2005). The educational activities (eg., five senses song, finger painting) in the current study met the early learning competencies set forth by Head Start and the five domains of early learning: verbal skills, conceptual and language skills, memory, and sensory exploration. It was found that Head start children were not consuming a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, were not achieving the recommended F & V intake, and that overweight and obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies (vitamins A and C, and iron) may be prevalent. Head Start families in Franklin and Hampshire Counties did not eat the recommended 5 fruits and vegetables daily. Observations at baseline indicated that children's exposure to a variety of fruits and vegetables, both within and outside the home, was minimal. Children were consuming too many fatty foods, and sugar-sweetened beverages, and not enough fruit and vegetables. Poorer quality protein food sources were often consumed in the form of hot dogs, chicken nuggets, boxed macaroni and cheese or canned spaghetti-os, and common lunch items served at home. Since participating in the MAFF classroom based multi-sensory activities, the Head Start nutritionist, classroom teachers, site supervisors and families provided positive feedback, and commented on the value-added benefits for THE children and remarked that the sensory exploration activities in the classroom provided fun and playful learning opportunities while encouraging the consumption of a variety of locally available fruits and vegetables. Family events hosted in support of the classroom activities were very successful and provided tremendous learning opportunities for the project team.
Publications
- Kannan S, Joiner J, Pfau L, Meshenko J, Sciallis A, Krishnakumar A, Severin, S. Sensory nutrition education positively impacts willingness to try local vegetables in Western Massachusetts Head Start children. Paper presentation at Experimental Biology Annual Meeting. San Diego, April 23, 2012.
- Sojkowski S, Kannan S, Severin S. Sensory exploration of seasonally and locally available vegetables and their effects on vegetable consumption of Western Massachusetts Head Start preschool children. Paper Presentation at Experimental Biology. San Diego, April 23, 2012.
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Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities, Events, Services and Products that reach Head Start families. Children The Mass Farm Fresh classroom component was implemented in Spring 2011 (n=64 children; 2 sites; 4 classrooms) and Fall 2011 (n=150 children; 6 sites; 10 classrooms). We have developed and piloted methodologies examining the effects of classroom-based multi-sensory exposure and exploration of vegetables (including sight, touch, scent, sound and taste) on Head Start children's willingness to try, preferences for, and consumption of the same target vegetables within an early childhood classroom setting. Families We also developed a Mass Farm Fresh parent/family event curriculum that exposes Head Start parents to child-friendly recipes highlighting locally available unfamiliar vegetable varieties in order to promote parent consumption of these vegetable varieties and the incorporation of these unfamiliar vegetable varieties into meals at home. Research Methods Children We have developed methodologies and data monitoring instruments including the Willingness Rating Scale, and Pre-Post Veggie Weight recording logs to (1) Quantify the changes in the children's acceptance measures of the target locally available varieties of the vegetables, from baseline to follow-up for each group of children; and 2) Compare the change in the outcome measures for the children (trend, directionality, intensity) for the varieties of vegetables between the two experimental groups of children - student facilitator guided sensory exploration; .and puppet-guided sensory exploration. Families We have developed assessment methodologies to (1) Investigate what effects parent exposure to recipe-building using locally available vegetable varieties will have on parent willingness to try and intent to purchase, prepare and consume the varieties of vegetables. Information on how any knowledge, results, information or products were disseminated. Two research abstracts have been submitted in November 2011 as follows for consideration for presentation at the Experimental Biology Meeting in San Diego, April 2012. The related authorship are shown in the listing below. Sensory nutrition education positively impacts willingness to try vegetables in Western Massachusetts Head Start children. Teaching and Mentoring Activities: As a result of the USDA-HATCH funded Mass Farm Fresh Research Project, four nutrition undergraduate students (Lindsey Pfau, Jesse Meshenko, Allison Sciallis and Jacqui Joiner) successfully completed their independent studies under my mentorship in Spring 2011. In addition, under my direct supervision and mentorship as part of the HATCH-MAFF project, ten nutrition undergraduate students selected MAFF as their independent study research project and after undergoing intensive training in research methods and data collection for the research project, worked with me in Fall 2011 helping to implement the classroom curriculum and family events. Two of the Nutrition Dept.graduate students Shannon Sojkowski and Arielle Magro received HATCH-MAFF Research Assistantship in Fall 2011. They are both expected to complete their MS thesis work and defend in February 2012. PARTICIPANTS: Please see the information provided in Screen #1. For additional information please contact Srimathi Kannan @ srimathik@gmail.com TARGET AUDIENCES: Mass Farm Fresh has reached the underserved segment of the early childhood population through partnership with Head Start. This research study has established preschool classrooms as a unique early education setting for the promotion of local F&V in young learners, and ultimately addressing potential risk for obesity. Any effects would be more direct and long-term. Sensory nutrition education approaches focused on vegetables were implemented in multi-ethnic culturally diverse groups of preschool children enrolled in Head Start. The curriculum and assessment materials were tailored to meet the needs of the Spanish speaking segment of the families enrolled in Mass Farm Fresh, in addition to addressing the nutritional needs of racial and ethnic minorities in this setting. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Based on our preliminary analysis of the Spring 2011 Mass Farm Fresh Classroom Garden project, we observed that Pre-post acceptability for vegetables shifted and the proportion of children "not willing to try" decreased from 11% to 3.8% (red bell pepper), from 7.4 to 5.6% (pea pods), and 5.6% to 3.7% (broccoli). Results show baseline variability and suggest favorable post-intervention shifts in sensory-exploration focused acceptability among vegetables in Head Start children. Data collection has just been completed for Fall 2011 and we are currently in process of beginning data coding and processing. The research aims and classroom based nutrition activities in Mass Farm Fresh are focused on multi-sensory educational interventions and align with state standards for early learning and with the NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria (2005). Specifically, the educational activities in the current study will satisfy the early learning competencies set forth by Head Start and the five domains of early learning: verbal skills, conceptual and language skills, memory, and sensory exploration. Our research is expected to have a positive impact on Head Start pre-school-aged children's acceptance of a variety of locally available vegetables because 1 in 7 children from a low-income family is obese (CDC), and because limited access to healthy foods is a major barrier for low-income families. Consistent with dietary patterns reported in the literature, Health record reviews by the Western MA Head Start nutritionist show that Head start children are not achieving the recommended F & V intake, and that overweight and obesity, as well as micronutrient deficiencies (vitamins A and C, and iron) may be prevalent. Head Start families in Franklin and Hampshire Counties do not eat the suggested 5 fruits and vegetables daily. The Head Start nutritionist's observations from health records indicated that children's exposure to a variety of F&v, both within and outside the home, was minimal. Many of these children have eating patterns that are inconsistent with the recommendations; children eat too many fatty foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, and not enough fruit and vegetables. A large percentage of their intake of vitamin C is in the form of juice, and their vitamin A intake and fiber intake is low. Low quality protein is often consumed in the form of hot dogs, chicken nuggets, boxed macaroni and cheese or canned spaghetti-os, common lunch items served at home. Since participating in the Mass Farm Fresh classroom based multi-sensory activities, the Head Start nutritionist, classroom teachers and site supervisors provided feedback about the program, noting the value-added benefits of this program for the children and remarked that the sensory exploration provided fun and playful learning opportunities for the children with regard to a variety of locally available vegetables. Similarly the family events in support of the classroom activities were very successful. Sensory nutrition education approaches focused on vegetables were implemented in multi-ethnic culturally diverse groups of preschool children enrolled in Head Start.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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