The “Healthy After Hours” program promotes healthy dietary behaviors amongst elementary schoolers through hands-on nutrition education programming, to cultivate strong, successful bodies and minds. This program will run for eight weeks, with one two-hour after school session each week. Nutrition educators trained in child nutrition will lead a mini-lecture covering basic nutrition principles for the first half of each lesson, followed by guided basic culinary skills training and taste testing in the latter half of each lesson. Program enrollment will be targeted to students that participate in the school’s free-and-reduced-price meals (FARMs) program, as diet-related health issues such as obesity and type II diabetes are most common amongst children experiencing food insecurity at home.
Take-home materials will be provided to students after each lesson, and students will be encouraged to share the information with their parents as well. Participants’ understanding and progress will be measured through weekly worksheets, a pre- and post-program food frequency questionnaire, and a final survey, as well as a six month and one year post-program follow up. The goal of this program is to increase fruit and vegetable consumption amongst program participants, to increase healthy eating behaviors in an away-from-the-home setting, and support their ability to prepare healthy snacks and meals independently. As a result, students will experience better health outcomes and continue making healthy decisions beyond the program period.
Reflection: The “About” section summarizes the program strategies and objectives, laying out the expectations and goals for the program. It includes a description of the growth that participants will experience over the course of the program as well as expectations for long-term behavior maintenance and ongoing learning and growth.