Created: 10/22/2008

Project Title: Head Start Nutrition Project

Project Category: Health

Project Status: Proposal

CASE Competition: University of South Dakota - University of South Dakota

Grant Winner

Problem: 

Solution:  

College or University: The University of South Dakota

State: South Dakota

Student Name: Malene A. Little

Year in College:

Major: English

Advisor Name: Amanda Emerson

Partner Name: Julie Viet

Section 2

(not more than one paragraph for your response)

What societal problem does your project solve?

This project will aid in solving the societal problem of inadequate consumption of nutrients. Poor nutritional habits have been directly linked to poor performance in school, behavioral problems, and numerous childhood diseases including diabetes. Head Start is a national program which serves families with children from the pre-natal stage through age five. Head Start specifically targets those children who are at risk of facing educational difficulties and prepares them for a successful transition into education. This nutrition program would allow Head Start to continue its mission by educating entire families about proper nutrition.

What would be the measurable outcomes of the partnership that you propose to create between the community and your educational institution?

There are several measurable outcomes for this project. First, families will eat better. Second, families will increase the hours of “quality time” they spend together because the program increases the interaction among family members. Third, families will have an improved understanding of what each type of vitamin/mineral does and which foods contain that vitamin/mineral. Finally, families will see how nutrition and exercise are both important components for good health.

How  would you, with the support of your faculty advisor on campus and some one from the community, work together around this specified community issue?

Meetings with my advisor and my community contact will ensure that the research is complete and able to be implemented. Further, my advisor and my community contact have more experience regarding community communication; they are invaluable in guiding me through proper procedures.

Section 3

(not more than one paragraph for your response)

How would you envision sharing power and decision making in the partnership? In other words, instead of doing something for the community how would you do something with the community?

Collaboration is a key aspect of this program. Although the information is disseminated through Head Start, it is up to the parents and childcare facilities to incorporate that information into children’s daily lives. Head Start will encourage involvement by rewarding participating families’ children with “prizes” such as stickers, books, and puzzles.

How would you collect data on what the project was doing and use it in the decision making process?

Providing numerical data showing the success of this project will not be a problem. Head Start already administers annual surveys to assess the nutritional habits of children ages 1-5. They ask questions such as which of the following foods does your child eat and how many times a day: bread, cereal/grits, noodles, pasta, bagels, rice, muffins, tortillas, crackers, and other grains? The question is repeated for each food group with a list of examples from that food group. For this project, additional surveys will be administered to parents at the beginning of the program, at the midway point of the program, and at the end of the program. Parents’ answers to questions such as “How many times in a month does your family eat “fast food” (e.g. McDonald’s, Dairy Queen, Domino’s)?” will show a decrease in consumption of food with little or no nutritional value as well as showing the behavioral changes associated with the consumption of these types of food. Parents’ answers to questions such as “How many times in a month does your child help with grocery shopping or preparing meals?” will demonstrate that the children themselves are not only consuming the more nutritious foods but are increasing their participation in the process of choosing and preparing nutritious foods as well.

Section 4

(not more than one paragraph for your response)

What would be the project activities?  Give examples of how the strengths already existing in the community will be acknowledged, built upon, and enhanced in the partnership to solve the problem.

Because Head Start has already received national recognition, it will be easier to build upon its reputation in implementing the project. In addition to Head Start’s national status, the Clay County Head Start coordinators are especially active in following the development of each child and systematically evaluating the teachers who work with the children on a daily basis. The daycare facilities where the Head Start classes are held also function as facilities for children who are not in Head Start. The Center for Children and Families (CFCF), where the “pilot test” of this project will take place, is the daycare of choice for many distinguished members of the community. Obviously for reasons of confidentiality, those names cannot be released. However, I am confident these dedicated parents will embrace the opportunity to partner with Head Start in educating their children about nutrition as well as learning about nutrition themselves.

Section 5

(not more than one paragraph for your response)

What obstacles or challenges might you encounter in implementing your project, and how would you address them?

Everyone has notions about nutrition, but some of the commonly known “facts” about eating nutritious foods are actually misconceptions. One of the first information sheets will address several of these misconceptions and reveal the truth. Here is an example of one issue that will be addressed: "My family has a lot of evening commitments (e.g. Girl Scouts, church, soccer, play practice…) which prevent us from eating at home. We have to eat in the car on the way to activities and thus can’t have nutritious meals." Our response would be "Several of the suggested snacks on the recipe pages can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the car. It’s also easy to grab a piece of fruit when you pick up your child’s cleats or Brownie sash. Depending on the timing of your evening commitments, your child can enjoy his/her evening meal right after school and enjoy the snack right before/after the activity or eat the snack first and have his/her evening meal after the activity. Reality Check: Kids can eat a nutritious prepared meal/snack in the car as easily as they can eat a cheeseburger or a package of 'fruit' snacks." In addition to participants’ initial resistance, the entities with which I hope to coordinate this project in the future (see next section) may have concerns about the monetary investments involved. However, when all entities plan, write, format, print, and distribute their own handouts, hundreds of hours of work are wasted because the effort is duplicated by the other entities. If all entities coordinated the distribution of the materials, only a few hours of individuals’ involvement are necessary. Furthermore, the handouts will already have been created, so there won’t be any need to spend the time writing or formatting the materials. Finally, all entities will save money because parents won’t receive similar handouts from multiple sources; all entities will know what to distribute when.

Section 6

(not more than one paragraph for your response)

Recruiting Volunteers:
Would you recruit additional student volunteers? If so, how?

Julie Viet has already talked to the Nutrition Program Director at The Sanford School of Medicine of The University of South Dakota. The emphasis area of the Dietetic Internship is "Nutrition for Special Needs and Underserved Populations." The Dietetic Interns’ participation in this project will count toward the number of hours required for community nutrition experience.

Enlisting Partners:
Do you envision enlisting businesses, or other organizations, etc., to help; if so, how?

Parents often receive materials regarding nutritional information from their children’s schools and daycares, physicians, and from various government agencies (e.g. WIC and Community Health Offices). The materials are not coordinated, so a parent might receive five handouts on calcium but no information about Vitamin E. Additionally, the materials lack uniformity in size, format, and frequency and are thus difficult to organize and store. They easily become lost in the stacks of other papers children bring home. In contrast, our program provides a comprehensive, systematic dissemination of information which allows parents to easily understand, store, and retrieve that information. At the beginning of the program, parents choose whether they would rather (a) receive a binder with clear plastic pages into which they can insert the papers OR (b) receive the information by e-mail for electronic organization. This flexibility will ensure that the program meets parents’ organizational needs, so using the information is convenient. Ideally, all entities that dispense nutritional advice would eventually coordinate their efforts to create an annual calendar during which predetermined information is presented. Because the three-inch strip will not be needed by most agencies, the information could be printed on 8.5”x11” paper. Regardless when the parent begins interaction with schools, daycares, government agencies, etc., he/she will get all the information within a year. For example, if children have not had contact with an entity before starting kindergarten, the parents’ materials will begin to accumulate in August and will conclude in July of the next year. As more information is available, the entities will edit the particular handout to which the information pertains and note that it was updated in, for example, June 2010. Parents would obviously be eligible to receive these updated materials without having to restart the program.

Section 7

(not more than one paragraph for your response)

How would the award money be used here?
If your project idea is an innovation of an existing program, what are its current funding sources?

If we are awarded the Carter Academic Service Entrepreneur Grant, we will use the money to cover costs associated with purchasing the binders and plastic inserts and printing the handouts. The grant may also be used for incidental expenses which are not currently anticipated. Although this project is meant to work in conjunction with Head Start’s “I’m Moving, I’m Learning” program, there is no funding for this project. At this time, the only funding that is anticipated is the money I put into the project myself.

Section 8

(not more than one paragraph for your response)

What do you anticipate learning from engaging in the service project?

I am not a nutritionist, and I have two young children whom I would like to see grow into healthy adults. Personally, the education about nutrition will help me to meet this goal. Professionally, this project will have numerous benefits. I will increase my understanding of how to work as a member of a team comprised of multiple agencies. I will learn how to communicate information among those team members. I will learn how to work for government agency in order to publish my research.

Section 9

(not more than one paragraph for your response)

If the above questions have not enabled you to convey the essence and value of your project’s impact, use this space to supplement your answers.

Section 10

(not more than one paragraph for your response)

Please submit an abstract (clear summary) of your proposed project idea.

Each week children will learn about a specific vitamin/mineral. In addition to classroom education and activities about the nutrient(s), children will bring home an 8.5”x14” informational sheet. The top 8.5”x11” section is for parents to store in their binders. The information will include what the nutrient does for the body, foods containing that nutrient, how to determine the quality of the food (e.g. is the produce ripe?), and recipes which include those specific foods. No recipe will take more than 45 minutes “from door to dinner.” Parents will sign the three-inch area at the bottom, cut off the section, and return it to the participating childcare facility with their children. If parents choose to participate in the e-mail option instead, their children will only bring home the slip. Each slip will include the questions about weekly activities, such as the following: How many times did your child(ren) taste a new food containing this nutrient? How many times did your child(ren) participate in shopping for groceries? How many times did your child(ren) participate in preparing the food? When a child returns the slip, he/she will earn a sticker based on the number of hours and the activities the parents indicate were completed. At the end of the program, each child will receive a prize based on the number of stickers he/she earned. If other agencies adopt this project, the slip could be omitted.