According to the 2018 Annual SNAP-Ed Report for Kentucky, at least one out of 3 Kentucky children are overweight or obese. Nearly half of Kentucky children consume fruits less than once daily, well below the 1½ to 2 cups daily recommended by USDA MyPlate. Children who consume low amounts of fruits and vegetables are at greater risk for many nutrition related health problems. According to the Centers for Disease Control,” eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables daily can help reduce the risk of many leading causes of illness and death, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and obesity.”

Henderson County Cooperative Extension began a collaboration with the South Middles School and North Middle School nutrition program and cafeterias during the spring of 2019. At South and North Middle School, 89.8% of students qualify for free or reduced school meals. Working with the school cafeteria offers an opportunity for Policy, Systems and Environment changes that directly impact students. While the National School Lunch program already has regulations in place to ensure that schools are serving nutritious foods, getting students to select and consume the healthy foods is another matter. The County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences Education provided the school cafeterias with marketing items designed to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables by middle school students. The banners, aprons, and other signage were used in the cafeteria for a 6 week period.

Although results are not available yet to determine if students consumed more fruits and vegetables as a result of the marketing intervention, there have been positive changes in collaboration of Henderson County Extension and the school nutrition program.  This was the first time that we have actually kept track of what students are intaking at lunch and it gave us a better understanding of the importance of making food sound and look good along with a working relationship with the cafeteria managers.  The schools were very cooperative and created a partnership with Extension.