Purpose/Objectives: School nutrition (SN) assistants/technicians are vital to the operation of successful school nutrition programs. The objective of this study was to update the 2006 Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills (CKS) needed by effective SN assistants/technicians. Changes in SN programs since 2006, including the implementation of…

A program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Team Nutrition Training Grants have two objectives: to develop the knowledge and skills of School Nutrition Managers such that they are able (1) to assist students participating in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program in making…

Extension programming can be effective at delivering nutrition education to food pantry clients. This study aimed to understand the perceptions of food pantry personnel towards nutrition education. A mixed methods survey was administered to food pantry personnel (n=53). Most (62.3%) reported their food pantry was church-affiliated, and few (22.6%)…

Background: Implementation of school-based health promotion programs requires contextual fit. To strengthen the nutrition education program "Krachtvoer" (ENG: "Power Food") and learn general lessons about contextual fit, this study examined how the program, the context, and program-context interactions affected teachers'…

School-based programs are widely implemented to combat childhood obesity, but these programs have mixed results. Dissemination and implementation science approaches to evaluation using qualitative methods can provide more robust details about program functioning that may be able to help explain the variation in the impact of these programs.…

Background: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) is the federal nutrition education program of the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP-Ed is designed to increase the likelihood that individuals with limited budgets can eat…

Nutrition education can improve nutrition and health for refugees. Extension program directors providing nutrition education to refugees were surveyed regarding successful program techniques, program challenges, and both the barriers refugees face and the strengths they possess concerning healthy eating. Researchers used grounded theory to explore…

Structural racism has contributed to increased poverty, food insecurity, and obesity rates among African Americans relative to Whites. Nutrition education programs should therefore consider how well they serve this population. The objective of this investigation was to assess whether African American and White Supplemental Nutrition Assistance…

Research examining the administration, evaluation, and continued implementation of technology-based nutrition education interventions for low-income populations is lacking. This dissertation evaluated the implementation of Food eTalk, a statewide online, self-paced nutrition education program. Implementation occurred in various community- and…

Background: School-based programs are widely implemented to address childhood obesity. Despite the promise of these programs, evidence on their effectiveness is mixed. Adopting a dissemination and implementation (D&I) science focus utilizing mixed methods can provide a broader understanding and more robust details about these programs. The…

Introduction: A common refrain in public health and medicine concerns the rapidly rising incidence of obesity and metabolic-like syndromes over the last two decades. A plethora of data suggests there are many roots to the issue and what to do about it. The rise of childhood obesity and the growing incidence of adult endocrine diseases like type 2…

The Food Resource Equity and Sustainability for Health ("FRESH") study is an Indigenous-led intervention to increase vegetable and fruit intake among Native American children. As part of this study, we developed a hybrid (online and in-person) food sovereignty and nutrition education curriculum for the parents of these children. This…

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of integration of school gardens and identify factors that predict integration. 211 New York City schools completed a survey that collected demographic information and utilized the School Garden Integration Scale. A mean garden integration score was calculated, and multiple regression analysis…

Train-the-Trainer (TTT) methodology uses an expert to train a non-expert on how to implement an intervention and is often used by Cooperative Extension personnel for delivery of programs in the natural setting. In these interventions using multiple educators and/or non-experts, a measure of implementation (fidelity of implementation) is necessary…

Social marketing campaigns are effective in promoting health behavior changes in individuals and communities. Mississippi State University Extension Service's (MSU Extension) Office of Nutrition Education launched a statewide social marketing campaign branded HappyHealthy to target nutrition and healthy lifestyle-related behaviors of Supplemental…