November 2013: Question 2
Q2: The study found that toddlers are not meeting the recommended
consumption of fruits, vegetables, and grains. What type of promotion program
would you create to help increase knowledge and consumption of these items?
posted by Erin M. @ 9:33 PM
14 comments
14 Comments:
I would attempt to create an exposure program that introduces families with young children to different kinds of fruits, vegetables, and grains. This program would go along with the "5 a day" campaign. This program could supply recipes as well as shopping lists that would help families meet the required intake of these foods.
I would create a taste testing program with different fruits and vegetables. I would discuss the importance of consuming these products, but would also talk about ensuring several exposures to the new F/V before a child will actually accept the item. I would also have examples of how to make the food look fun so that the toddler would be more willing to try the food.
I would try to promote consumption of fruit, vegetables, and grains through activities with local childcare providers. Creating awareness among parents and other members of the community who provide childcare service would ensure that those who are able to make the most difference have the know how to do so.
Emily, I agree that making F/V and grain foods look fun to eat is a great tool to increase consumption of these foods! Making snacks like ants on a log or an apple sandwich with granola, peanut butter, and chocolate chips are just a couple great ideas that incorporate those foods and are attractive to eat.
Sarah S said...
I would have food demonstrations for families that incorporated healthy recipes that are inexpensive and easy to prepare. I would ideally (funding permitted) provide the ingredients needed for the recipes for them to take home as well as include some handouts on the nutrient values of the recipes and local venues where they could purchase the ingredients more inexpensively.
Sarah S said...
I like Emily's idea of doing taste tests to expose the kids to more f/v. I also like Lynetta's idea of partnering with local childcare providers as this would provide greater awareness among those who provide some of their meals/snacks.
I would try and promote fruit and vegetable juicing. I believe kids get scared at the site of vegetables and fruit so maybe having them in a liquid form would be easier. They wouldn't know what's hiding in it. I would also have them try a new fruit or vegetable every week. You could emphasize the importance of eating a colorful rainbow also. A game could be made from it for some fun and incentive.
Emily, I like your idea of a taste testing program. Also, good point about the importance of several exposures being giving up on a fruit or vegetable with a child. Lynetta has a good idea of the creative snacks such as ants on a log. It was sure fun as a child to play with your food and help make it at the same time.
The study mentioned that children from households with lower incomes had the lowest consumption of fruits and vegetables. Therefore, I would want to target low income households for any program created. I think tours of local farms could spark a curiosity of eating fruits and vegetables for children. The tour could end with a fruit of vegetable snack for them to try. For parents, I think that resources for buying low cost fruits and vegetables would be important, such as farmers market locations or tips for buying what is in season.
I also like Emily's idea of reminding parents that it may take a few tries before that child will choose to eat a fruit or vegetables. They need to know not to get discouraged at the first rejection. Also, they should set an example of eating the food themselves.
I would try and make a game out of eating fruits and vegetables. I would make it a game that the mother and daughter could play together. I think that if I associate fun with eating fruits and vegetables the more likely the daughter is to consume them.
My suggestions might include a farm visit program where families and children could go to a local farm to learn about how plants grow & what the different types of fruits & vegetables are. One could also bring the farmer to visit a day care with some samples of produce & have the kids play a matching game to learn the produce, ending with having the children help create an easy-to-make snack recipe.
Emily has a good point that the program should feature the idea that it takes a few different exposures to a food for a child to try it. Carly, juicing the produce is a really interesting idea. My mom used to juice a lot when I was younger & she got me to drink green smoothies by "hiding" the taste with fruits, so that might be a good idea. To add fiber, you could even bake the veggie pulp left over down to veggie chips for a snack.
This is a difficult age because teaching the children about nutrition is almost out of the questions. I would focus more on the parents and encouraging the variety of foods for their children. Targeting daycare centers or stay at home moms for a taste test or a nutrition education to provide them with the tools and background for the benefits of these foods for the age level. Also including older siblings in the taste testing/encouragement of these foods could be beneficial as we all know kids want to do exactly as their older siblings do.
Kaitlin has a wonderful idea incorporating the "5 a day" campaign and supplying recipes and shopping lists. The easier the better for busy parents and families. Many people are just lacking the creativity or ideas for including more healthy foods in their cooking/diets. Any tools or resources we could provide such as the shopping lists or recipes Kaitlin suggested would be beneficial for these parents.
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