Who: Target Population
Nutrition- IQ Summer Camp is designed for Littles in Pinellas County, the majority being ages 10-14. In terms of demographics, the Littles are about 60:40 girls to boys and are represented by the following racial groups: 47% African American, 24% Caucasian, 15% Hispanic, 10% Multi-racial and 4% Other.
Why and Where is Change Needed?
The Senior Director of Match Support at Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) recognizes a growing concern with childhood obesity for the Littles in the Tampa Bay area. The top barriers to Littles eating a more nutrient dense diet are described below:
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Limited income available for buying food, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. Littles have been entered into the program by mostly single parents or relative care-givers representing low-income households.
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Access constraints. The kids tend to live in neighborhoods where access to fresh foods is difficult due to convenience stores being plentiful, but grocery stores being few and far between. About half of the parents do not have a car for transportation.
- Knowledge and skills gap for preparing good tasting, nutrient-rich economical food at home.
How: Levels of Influence
In order to realize the best chance of achieving program objectives, multiple levels of influence need to be addressed from a socio-ecological perspective.
Individual- Hands-on activities will directly build self-efficacy for the pre-teen Little.
Interpersonal– The Big Brother or Big Sister serve as a source of education, modeling and motivation for Littles and Parents/Caregivers.
Organizational– The BBBS organization invests resources in creating a website as a depository of materials that support nutrition related activities/lessons for Matches. Recipes utilize lower cost items at the single neighborhood grocery store.
Community– Pinellas County Health Department provides a Farmer’s Market Guide with locations accepting electronic benefits transfer (EBT). Wal-Mart of Pinellas Park donates gift cards to support grocery shopping.