Nutrition Education is Helping Low-Income Families Eat Healthier

In addition to math and reading lessons, many third graders in Alabama’s low-income communities learn about nutrition from animated characters like Shining Rainbow, who loves colorful vegetables, and Muscle Max, who eats plenty of lean protein. The students also take the “Vow of the Warrior” in their classrooms. “I will enter into the quest for health, strength, and wisdom. I will try new fruits and vegetables,” the vow begins.

It’s all part of a state SNAP-Ed curriculum called Body Quest, which applies what Sondra Parmer, the administrator of SNAP-Ed programs for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, calls “multilevel intervention” —and it turns out it has had a significant impact on children and families since its launch in 2010.

Most people are familiar with SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, which help address food insecurity among vulnerable populations. SNAP-Ed is a companion program that provides comprehensive nutrition education to many of the same families, who may be struggling to put together healthy meals on a limited budget.

“When we look at the data for the program, we can say with certainty—because we’re comparing a treatment and a control group—that because of Body Quest, these kids are eating better,” said Parmer.

Now, a new study has aggregated data across eight states in the Southeast to evaluate the broader impact of programs like these for the first time. Published in the Journal of Nutritional Science at the end of September, the study found adults and children in SNAP-Ed programs are more likely to make a number of positive behavior changes, including eating more fruit and vegetables.

And while the data is from 2017, the results come at a time when advocates say helping food-insecure families eat well is more important than ever. Since the pandemic began, millions of Americans have lost their jobs and joined the ranks of those struggling to feed their families, prompting various calls for an increase in SNAP benefits. One analysis found nearly a quarter of American households faced food insecurity during the pandemic, more than double the number that did before COVID-19. In households with children, food insecurity tripled.

Based on the study results, SNAP-Ed may be one effective tool to help people in low-income communities eat more of the foods that prevent diet-related diseases and the devastating impact of COVID-19.

To undertake the research, the Public Health Institute created a working group with representatives from SNAP-Ed agencies in eight states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

“We selected the common indicators, and then we came up with a plan on how to gather that information from everyone,” explained Amy DeLisio, the director of the Center for Wellness and Nutrition at the Public Health Institute and a co-author of the study. The 25 participating agencies used pre- and post-tests with SNAP-Ed participants, and then re-coded the results to match standardized indicators.

Results showed participants ate about a third of a cup of more fruit and a quarter of a cup more vegetables per day than they had before participating in the programs. And while that little bump might not sound significant, experts said it’s more meaningful than it may appear.

“It may seem like a very small amount of fruits and vegetables on your plate,” said Julia McCarthy, interim deputy director at the Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education and Policy, but it is a significant increase, especially given most Americans fall far short of meeting dietary guidelines in this realm. Furthermore, “behavior change is slow and hard to come by,” she said.

Researchers also found that individuals in the study reported that they were more likely to increase the variety of produce in their diets, drink more water and fewer sugary beverages, and read nutrition labels while shopping.

The study was limited by the lack of a control group, DeLisio said. But “in general, [the data] is showing SNAP-Ed works,” she concluded.

McCarthy said she was excited to find more than 700 policy, system, and environmental changes being used within the SNAP-Ed programs they analyzed, which she thought pointed to the fact that changing people’s environments is a crucial component of nutrition education.

“You can’t teach people how to eat well without healthy foods, just like you can’t teach people how to read without books,” she added.

And the fact that the study aggregated data across states in the entire Southeast region, Fox said, made it much more impactful and interesting. “You have higher numbers reporting, and therefore you have a little more confidence in the data . . . and what they’re showing,” she said. “I think it’s a really good model for other regions, hopefully, to use.”

All the experts said the study was a starting point for more research that needs to be done across the country. But at this moment in time, the results are especially meaningful.

SNAP-Ed programs have also been affected by the pandemic in significant ways, since most are facilitated in person. Some programs have moved online, while some educators have had to pause their efforts entirely.

Regardless of what the future brings, DeLisio said she believes the data supports ongoing funding for SNAP-Ed. McCarthy echoed that sentiment, emphasizing the “unnecessary division” that has often existed between hunger and nutrition work.

“Families want to feed their members healthy, delicious food, and any sort of food insecurity efforts that don’t consider nutrition are not going far enough,” she said. “COVID-19 has exposed just how vulnerable diet-related diseases have made us. Healthy eating has to be a top priority.”

Click below to read the full story in Civil Eats.

Resources

See the PHI press release and view and download the infographic.

Read other recent articles on the study in Kentucky Health News and the Selma Times Journal.

For more information, see the Center for Wellness and Nutrition website.

Originally published by Civil Eats