Healthy Schoolhouse 2.0 (2017-2022)

The Healthy Schoolhouse 2.0 program’s long-term goal is to improve health literacy and prevent obesity in elementary school students in Washington, DC. To achieve this goal, the program team designs, implements, and evaluates a set of research, education, and extension activities in elementary schools in Washington, DC.

The primary activity is the development, implementation, and evaluation of a professional development (PD) series for teachers that will educate them on integrating nutrition concepts into the classroom. This learning will extend beyond the school walls through school-wide events that include families, such as after-school events including Martha’s Table Joyful Food Markets. Healthy Schoolhouse 2.0 will engage teachers as championed community members of change by creating a culture of health within their classrooms and schoolhouses.

DCCK - Healthy School Meals (2021-2023)

In partnership with DC Central Kitchen and United HealthCare, Healthy School Meals is a two-year mixed-methods implementation research project using innovative behavioral economics approaches to evaluate student progress in knowledge, skills, and behavior relating to healthy eating in a school environment.

• Year 1 of the project utilized an ‘appetizer’ approach to support increased consumption of fruits and vegetables at lunch time. The findings suggest offering fruits and vegetables prior to a meal may be effective in increasing consumption
  • For students consuming all their carrots, the consumption rate increased from 6.1% with the meal to 18.4% before the meal.
  • The rate of students who consumed half of their carrots increased from 7.6% with the meal to 17.2% before the meal.
  • With baby carrots, selection increased from 81.5% with the meal to 95.6% prior to the meal.
• Year 2: Results pending