family food decision making a cornell cooperative extension program developed through community...

Family Food Decision Making

A Cornell Cooperative Extension Program Developed through

Community Engaged Research

ADA Food & Nutrition Conference & ExpoDenver, Colorado

October 17-20, 2009

Ardyth Gillespie, Suzanne Gervais, Patricia Thonney, Kathy Dischner, Chris Gutelius, Helen Howard, Loree Symonds, Holly Gump, Laura Smith, Jessica Schillawski, Lindsay Krasna and Rebecca Johnson


Context

• Childhood obesity(Ogden et al, 2008; Wang, 2007)

• Family food decision-making framework (Gillespie and

Gillespie, 2007)

• The importance of family meals (Herbst and Stanton, 2007; Larson et al, 2006)

• Experiential Learning Theory (Kolb, 1984)


Family Food Decision Making Framework

Food EventFood Event DecideDecide

ImplementImplement

PoliciesPoliciesRoutinesRoutines

TradeoffsTradeoffs

Assess AlternativesAssess Alternatives

FOOD & EATING GOALS FOOD & EATING GOALS and PRIORITIESand PRIORITIES

NotNot

Satisfacto

ry

Satisfacto

ry

Satisfactory

Satisfactory


Experiential learning

Kolb, David A. 1984. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development.

Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J

Concrete Experience

(feeling)

Reflective observation (watching)

Active Experimentation

(doing)

Abstract Conceptualization

(thinking)


CTFM proposal

• CTFM proposal 2006– Builds on Cooking up Fun experiential learning approach

(Thonney, 1998; Kolb, 1984) – Family Food Decision-making framework (Gillespie and

Gillespie, 2007)

• Limited funds: – $25K/yr Smith Lever grant / 5 counties 3 years

• CTFM project expansion 2009: – Supported by the Cornell Cooperative Extension Director's

Innovation Fund, and – Special Project Fund from the Assistant Dean of the College of

Human Ecology, Cornell University

• Human capital


Cooking Together for Family Meals

• Objectives: – Increase vegetable consumption– Improve food preparation skills– Encourage family meals at home– Foster positive parent-child food related

interactions • Series of 6 classes

– 4 to 6 parent-child pairs / class– Children targeted age: 8-15 yrs old

• 2007, 2008 and 2009– 18 series; 200 participants; 73 families


Synergistic development process

• Capitalizes on educators knowledge, experience and skills in program delivery

• Borrows from multiple implementation strategies and theories

• Brings opportunities and challenges


THEORY

Research

Practice

Community Engaged Research Methodology


Community Engaged Research

• Collaborative and experimental approach to develop CTFM – CCE staff: region and 5

counties– Participants – Cornell faculty & students– Community partners

• Formative research

• Partnership Principles*– agree on common and

complementary goals– clarify roles and responsibilities– develop working protocols– commit the necessary

resources – create flexible, trusting

relationships – celebrate milestones and share

credit*Gillespie, Gantner, Craig, Dischner, Lansing, JOE, 2003


2007 2008 2009

All 5 counties 9 series40 families105 participants

All 5 counties*5 series21 families56 participants

3 counties (C-T-O)3 series12 families39 participants

CTFM collaboration in action

Staff trainingSeries # 1

Debrief /Share /ReviseTrochim Eval. Proj.

4 meetings Program timeline / scopeLogic model / MSCFacilitator GuideEvaluation

C-T

C-T-O share experience with new counties St- Sc

3-mo follow-upeval

SNE abstract

Series # 2 Series # 3

Debrief/Share /Revise

Debrief/ShareSWOTintern evals

Series # 4O

Debrief SWOT Lesson plansRevise program GoalsRevise evaluation toolsExplore fundingDietetic interns

ADA, AFHV, NIH, abstracts

Debrief/Share /Revise

Staff training

Staff training

SNE conf.

• Through summer 2009

Cooking Together forFamily Meals Workshop

Series

Parents and childrenparticipate in CTFM

classes and attendance isrecorded

Class habits areincorporated in home

practices

Parent/child pairs gainappreciation for

vegetables

Parent/child pairs gainawareness of blue moon

vs. routine fooddecisions

Parent/child pairs gainawareness of factors

impinging on family meals

Parent/child pairs gainconfidence in foodpreparation skills

Parent/child pairs learnto communicate better

with each other throughsharing in class tasks

Parent/child pairs sharefamily food heritage

through discussions withclass

Parents gain awareness ofbenefits of eating

local/in-season produce

Parents recognizechildren's abilities and

capacities as a result ofsharing class tasks

Parent/child pairs andfamilies increase

frequency of family mealsat home

Parent/child pairs andfamilies will changefamily routines andpolicies related to

vegetables

Parent/child pairs gaincooking skills

Parents give childrenmore responsibility in

preparing family meals

Improved family healthand well being

Parent/child pairs andfamilies will decreasedietary risk factors for

obesity

Parent/child pairs sharein responsibililties of

family life

Increased consumption oflocally grown produce

Parent/child pairs haveincreased variety and

amount of vegetable usage

Parent/child pairsincrease food enjoyment

Children gain work ethicthrough preparing family

food

Families integrate familyheritage into meals and

celebrations

Parent/child pairs gainawareness of how to makethoughtful food decisions

CUCE-Tompkins: CTFM Pathway Model

Created as part of the Evaluation Partnership project of the Cornell Office for Research on Evaluation


Monitoring & evaluation tools used for CTFM, 2008

Tools Cayuga Onondaga Schuyler Steuben TompkinsVeggie Tracker

Facilitator Notes About Today’s Session

Most Significant Change Weekly Outcomes

End of Program Evaluation

Discussion of Family Food Decisions

Youth Questions Verbal Feedback

Retrospective Survey 3-Month follow-up Observation/family

dynamics


Facilitator reported changes

1. Increased use and variety of vegetables consumed including targeted vegetables• One boy said, “I learned how to use fresh basil. I learned how to

cook with kale. I learned how to peel and cut carrots.”• Another participant said, “I didn’t know how easy it was to make soup

using vegetables.”

2. Improved cooking skills, especially knife handling• “I let my child use a sharp knife, which I never did before.”• “We learned how to measure the exact amount (of ingredients). And

how to cut veggies the proper way.”

3. Increased parent confidence in competencies of their children in the kitchen• “I’ve gained a lot more patience with my daughter and recognize that

her cooking skills are good enough to let her help in preparing meals at home.”

• “My kids are helping more in the kitchen.”


Facilitator reported changes

4. Enhanced parent/child interaction around meal planning and preparation

• “My son actually got up early before school and helped me chop carrots, potatoes, onions and broccoli for a stew I was preparing for dinner. We talked, and it was really enjoyable.”

• “[My son will]…be helping with Thanksgiving dinner this year by making two dishes he learned to make in CTFM.”

5. Recipes were well liked, and families prepared them at home

• “My son loved the pumpkin cornbread recipe so much that he made it for Thanksgiving dinner, and even my picky mother ate it, loved it, and wanted the recipe.”

• One 8-year-old boy said of the Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup, “This soup is so good. Could I take the rest home?”


78% Know how to use vegetables60% Include vegetables in meals49% Saute vegetables44% Plan meals37% Chop vegetables

95% Use knife safely90% Help prepare meals90% Be safe in kitchen85% Help clean up after cooking68% Practice food safety

88% increase in child interest in cooking79% increase in frequency of children helping to prepare meals at home36% increase in child vegetable consumption

Evaluation survey results, 2008-2009

Retrospective pre-post survey

81% Vegetables overall60% Dark green leafy vegetables57% Legumes43% Orange vegetables (not carrots)67% Cruciferous29% Decreased fast food consumption

Reported child behavior changes

Increased confidence in child abilities

Increased consumption

Increased skills & knowledge

% adult participants that:

68% Increased feeling good about cooking as a family or with child


Changes and intention to change in family food routines

• Child’s increased participation in food routines– Child is more willing to help, talks about what s/he learned and applies it at

home, is safer in the kitchen, is more interested in helping and cooking, provides more inputs in meal planning

• Improved family dynamics– More willing to accept help from child, have more confidence in child’s skills and

behaviors, and enjoy more parent-child interaction

• Families’ greater desire for healthier foods and eating together

– Families discuss recipe adaptations, incorporate a variety of new foods in diet, eat together more often, participants are more aware of what they are feeding their family, and previously “picky eaters” now willing to eat new foods

– Families intend to decrease meat and fat consumption, increase whole grains and beans in diet, maintain planning, preparing and cooking meals as a family

Parents Reported:


What parents appreciated most in CTFM

• Quality time with children• Learning new skills• Safety issue awareness• Realizing children’s capabilities and

developing new pride in their children• Making new friends• Cooking with fun• Going through the whole meal process in

class• Responsive facilitators


Collaborative program development

• Program development– Logic model and pathways (M. Duttweiler, B. Trochim )– SWOT analysis (M. Duttweiler & S. Dayton)

• CTFM facilitator guide (P.Thonney)– Recipes targeting featured vegetables– Field testing 2007-08– Facilitator Guide and staff training

• Monitoring and Evaluation tools– Locally developed and adapted from FFDM, CUF– Most significant change technique (M. Duttweiler)– Retrospective pre-post survey (R. Johnson, dietetic intern) – Long term follow-up (J. Schillawski dietetic intern, J.Tucker, DNS student)

• Family dynamic studies – Interviews on family dynamics (J. Tucker, DNS student)– Observations of family dynamics and identification of facilitator entry

points to promote positive family interactions (L. Krasna, dietetic intern)


SWOT analysis results

Strengths+ Changes in veggie consumption, cooking skills, family dynamics, and economic self-sufficiency+ Impact beyond participant families & encourages community collaboration+ Supports university/ community obesity prevention efforts+ Program is attractive : it’s fun for kids and provides an opportunity for quality parent/child interaction

Opportunities+ Expands on current FNEC programs, to target whole families+ Due to economic downturn, more families are cooking at home+ Opportunity to connect with local producers, WIC, schools, farmers markets, etc.+ Need exists for this program

Weaknesses- Lack of money to continue program- Labor intensive for nutrition educators- Untested evaluation tools- Lack of clarity of objectives/outcomes

Threats- Lack of impact data will jeopardize funding- Perception that culinary skills are not linked to childhood obesity/nutrition- Funder expectations (content, scale of audience)


2009 Collaborative Engaged Research plans

• Collaborative reflection & analysis • Develop further the CTFM program theory • Solidify core program elements to deliver• Identify lessons learned and best practices • Revise the implementation process, including training• Revise evaluation tools

• Products • Revised evaluation tools• Strategy to extend coverage and enhance program

delivery• Applications for funding / grants• Packaging of current program


2009 Evaluation plans

• Process evaluation• Target population; content; human

resources; staff training & motivation; cost• Interviews with facilitators & program

managers, monitoring data, financial data

• Impact evaluation• Behavior change: consumption, family

dynamics, child participation, skills • Retrospective pre-post survey; in-depth

interviews


Funding

Supported by:• Smith Lever funds from the Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

• The Cornell Cooperative Extension Director's Innovation Fund

• Special Project Fund from the Assistant Dean of the College of Human Ecology, Cornell University

Additional support to CCE-Onondaga: • The Syracuse City School District

• The Syracuse City Department of Parks and Recreation


“Cooking Together Team”

County association staff: Kathleen Dischner & Cheryl Harper (CCE-Onondaga); Christine Gutelius and Rebecca Crawford (CCE-Cayuga) Helen Howard and Tina Foster (CCE-Tompkins); Loree Symonds and Jonathan Sterlace (CCE-Steuben); Robin Travis and Melissa Clary (CCE-Schuyler); Holly Gump (Food and Nutrition Education in Communities, Finger Lakes Nutrition Region)

Cornell University Faculty and staff: Ardyth Gillespie, Suzanne Gervais , Pat Thonney, Susan Travis, Laura Smith and Paddy Redihan

Cornell University Student and Dietetic Interns: Julie Tucker, Dawn Moses, Rebecca Johnson, Lindsay Krasna, and Jessica Schillwaski

Additional Cornell University support: Monica Hargraves, Wendy Wolfe, CIT support staff

family food decision making a cornell cooperative extension program developed through community...

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