Sharma Shreela V, Chow Joanne, Pomeroy Michael, Raber Margaret, Salako David, Markham Christine
Department of Epidemiology, Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, University of Texas School of Public Health, 1200 Herman Pressler Dr., Houston, TX 77030.
Brighter Bites, Houston, TX 77029.
J Sch Health. 2017 Apr;87(4):286-295. doi: 10.1111/josh.12497.
Food co-op models have gained popularity as a mechanism for offering affordable, quality produce. We describe the challenges, successes, and lessons learned from implementation of a school-based program using a food co-op model combined with nutrition education to improve access to and intake of fresh fruits and vegetables among low-income children and their families.
Brighter Bites is a 16-week intervention comprising of fresh produce deliveries, recipe demonstrations, and nutrition education. A mixed-methods approach was used comprising survey and focus group data collected from Brighter Bites staff, parents, and teachers. Descriptive statistics and frequencies were computed for the survey data collected.
Brighter Bites was implemented across 9 schools, serving a total of 1530 predominantly low-income families in the 2013-2014 school year. Brighter Bites distributed an average 60.2 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables per family per week. Lessons learned included the importance of leveraging existing infrastructure of food banks and schools to implement the program, early school and parent engagement, and incorporating strategies to track and optimize engagement.
Clear expectations and reliable partnerships are keys to the delivery of the Brighter Bites program.
食品合作社模式作为一种提供价格合理的优质农产品的机制已日益普及。我们描述了在实施一项以学校为基础的项目过程中所面临的挑战、取得的成功以及吸取的经验教训，该项目采用食品合作社模式并结合营养教育，以改善低收入儿童及其家庭获取和食用新鲜水果和蔬菜的情况。
“更健康的一口”是一项为期16周的干预措施，包括新鲜农产品配送、食谱示范和营养教育。采用了混合方法，包括从“更健康的一口”项目的工作人员、家长和教师那里收集的调查和焦点小组数据。对收集到的调查数据进行了描述性统计和频率计算。
“更健康的一口”项目在9所学校实施，在2013 - 2014学年共为1530个主要为低收入家庭提供服务。“更健康的一口”项目平均每周每户家庭分发60.2份新鲜水果和蔬菜。吸取的经验教训包括利用食品银行和学校的现有基础设施来实施该项目的重要性、学校和家长的早期参与，以及纳入跟踪和优化参与度的策略。
明确的期望和可靠的伙伴关系是实施“更健康的一口”项目的关键。
