Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
888 N EUCLID AVE
TUCSON,AZ 85719-4824
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Summary:Each year, 85% of U.S. healthcare funds are spent on chronic diseases related to nutrition and 600,000 people die from these diseases. The diseases impact underserved people and communities at double and triple the average rates. Community-based evidence clearly demonstrates that increasing nutrition knowledge not only improves health, but also reduces structural barriers and health inequities. These changes enhance productivity and longevity across the U.S.Goal: We have a strong 4-H Healthy Living Ambassadors (HLA) program with a consistent track record of positive youth development that is embedded in an at-risk community in Tucson. Our goal is to immerse teens in leadership and skill development activities that focus on teaching seed-to-table nutrition and hosting large community events that foster nutrition security, address health inequities, and reduce food wastage in at-risk communities in Tucson and South Phoenix.Objectives: Our teens gain skills in:(1) curriculum development and implementation - systematically incorporating nutrition security interventions into our farm-fresh produce-distribution events(2) leadership that impacts communities - addressing health inequities and enhancing community health and wellness(3) innovation - designing and implementing a blueprint for seeding at-risk communities across Arizona with 4-H HLA programs adapted to local needsMethods: Our FARMacy program leverages the science of produce-prescription programs to provide our at-risk community with affordable produce and tailored nutrition education. It uniquely augments the traditional model by offering these services in our vegetable gardens and having them presented by teen ambassadors. We teach teens to organize large-scale, intergenerational, community-based events and conduct them on a regularly scheduled basis. They create age-appropriate, approachable, bilingual demonstrations of identifying nutrient dense foods from the garden; hands-on food preparation and cooking of produce; cultural differences in food preparation; and ultimately, consumption of highly palatable vegetables.Project Relevance: Building a sustainable FARMacy for their community allows teens to see how their skills and effort rapidly contribute to improving the health and well-being of their community. This experience sets the stage for a lifelong commitment to individual and community health.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Goals:Our goal is to use 4-H positive youth development activities to provide seed-to-table nutrition education, foster nutrition security, reduce health inequities, and reduce food wastage in at-risk communities in Tucson and South Phoenix. Our objectives are:Create opportunities for teen 4-H Healthy Living Ambassadors (HLA) to develop skills, and become leaders, in improving the health and well-being of their community.Teach HLA to plan and conduct large-scale community FARMacy events that provide teen-led nutrition education, food sampling, and cooking demonstration sessions in conjunction with a produce distribution market.Engage Tucson HLA teens in sharing their expertise with teens in South Phoenix to create a 4-H, HLA program focused on developing a teen-facilitated FARMacy program tailored to the needs of South Phoenix.
Project Methods
Methods:Efforts - The project is grounded in state-of-the-art, experiential-learning curricula. Curricula focus on engaging teens in seed-to-table agriculture, healthy lifestyles, food-as-medicine concepts, culinary arts, public speaking skills, event planning, reducing health inequities, eliminating food wastage, and the role of educational and non-profit organizations in building community health and well-being. The project will provide the opportunity for teens to (a) expand 4-H programming (in Tucson) to another at-risk community (South Phoenix) and (b) extend their skills to include developing collaboration and peer teaching skills. The project will culminate in the development of a blueprint for expanding 4-H programming focused on promoting the health and well-being of at-risk communities across the state of Arizona.Evaluation occurs at key milestones in the project -Enrollment evaluation - Teens complete standardized quantitative and qualitative baseline measures of health behaviors (Walmart Foundation and CYFAR Common Measures surveys) to provide a context for change in health, skill, leadership, and confidence behaviors.First FARMacy event in Tucson - Teens participate in event debriefs and planning for future events.Third FARMacy event in Tucson - Teens participate in event debriefs and planning for future events.First FARMacy event in South Phoenix - Teens participate in event debriefs and planning for future events.Third FARMacy event in South Phoenix - Teens participate in event debriefs and planning for future events.Meetings, activities, and events - Participation head counts for teens, families, and community members.Spring Break Review - Teens complete standardized quantitative and qualitative evaluations of change in health behaviors and the impact of program participation.Spring Evaluation-a-thon (end-of-school-year) - Teens review the previous 9 months of 4-H programming, identify program strengths and weaknesses, and prepare strategic and tactical plans for improvement.FARMacy events - Adults complete a brief survey indicating the number of times they have participated in a FARMacy event, outlining which FARMacy activities they found meaningful, their experience with vegetable and fruit consumption, and the impact of the FARMacy program on their health and well-being.Presentations and publications - Number of presentations and publications submitted to juried conferences or peer-reviewed journals. Number accepted.