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Expanding children's food experiences : the impact of a school-based kitchen garden program

journal contribution
posted on 2013-03-01, 00:00 authored by Lisa Gibbs, Petra StaigerPetra Staiger, B Johnson, K Block, Susie MacfarlaneSusie Macfarlane, Lisa GoldLisa Gold, J Kulas, Mardie TownsendMardie Townsend, Caroline Long, O Ukoumunne
Objective: Evaluate achievement of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program in increasing child appreciation of diverse, healthy foods.

Design: Comparative 2-year study.

Setting: Six program and 6 comparison primary schools in rural and metropolitan Victoria, Australia, matched for socioeconomic status and size.

Participants: A total of 764 children in grades 3 to 6 (8–12 years of age) and 562 parents recruited. Retention rates at follow-up included 85% children and 75% parents.

Intervention: Each week of the school year, children spent 45 to 60 minutes in a garden class and 90 minutes in a kitchen class.

Phenomenon of interest: Program impact on children’s willingness to try new foods, capacity to describe foods, and healthy eating.

Analysis: Qualitative data analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Quantitative data analyzed using random-effects linear regressions adjusted for school clustering.

Results: Child and parent qualitative and quantitative measures (if never tried before, odds ratio 2.0; confidence interval, 1.06–3.58) showed increases in children’s reported willingness to try new foods. No differences in articulation of food descriptions (program vs comparison groups). Qualitative evidence showed that the program extended its influence to healthy eating, but this was not reflected in the quantitative evidence.

Conclusions and Implications: Findings indicate program success in achieving its primary objective, meriting further program research.

History

Journal

Journal of nutrition education and behavior

Volume

45

Issue

2

Pagination

137 - 146

Publisher

Elsevier

Location

New York, N. Y.

ISSN

1499-4046

eISSN

1878-2620

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2013, Elsevier