grant proposal (2nd draft) for gohw mobile kitchen program

GRANT PROPOSAL

for

GIFT OF HEALTH & WELLNESS

MOBILE KITCHEN PROGRAM

On the Road to A Healthy Lifestyle

-2nd DRAFT-

1/15/2009

USDA Grant Proposal for Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen Program

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

I. INTRODUCTION

Gift of Health & Wellness Organization 3

II. NEED IDENTIFICATION

A. The Problem Under Study: Obesity in the U.S 3 - 5

B. Need Statement 5 - 6

III. GIFT OF HEALTH & WELLNESS MOBILE KITCHEN PROGRAM

A. Program Overview, Target Populations and Selection Criteria 6 - 8

B. Purpose and Goals 9

C. Program Objectives 9 - 10

IV. METHODOLOGY

A. "Gift of Health & Wellness" Lunch Box Program 10 - 11

B. Meal Preparation via Mobile "Teaching" Kitchen 11 - 12

C. Organic Gardening 12 - 13

D. "Measure Up" Physical Activity 13

E. Key Metrics 13 - 14

V. ASSESSMENT

A. Reaction Assessment 14

B. Learning Assessment 15

C. Behavioral Assessment 15

D. Impact Assessment 15 - 16

VI. EVALUATION PLAN 16 - 17

VII. SUMMARY 18

APPENDIX

REFERENCES 20


I. INTRODUCTION

Gift of Health & Wellness Organization

In 2001, the former Elmhurst, IL-based health food store Good Eats! was established. Over

time, its owners began organizing a number of community outreach programs, such as Health

Fair Day, with medical facilities and churches located in Elmhurst and the surrounding area.

By 2005, they transformed their business into a 501c-3 community-based not-for-profit

organization called Gift of Health & Wellness, an organization which today works with

communities and local physicians to deliver health and wellness programs. Among its other

charters, Gift of Health & Wellness primarily seeks to provide instruction and after-school

activities to families with health disparities (obesity, diabetes, hypertension, etc.) and to youths

with special needs.

In this particular project, called the "Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen Program, On

the Road to a Healthy Lifestyle", Gift of Health & Wellness will team with other partners to

provide nutritional and lifestyle solutions to youths aged 6 through 14 years in order to reduce

obesity-related problems, including diseases attributed to obesity, poor academic performance,

low self-esteem, lack of exercise, and a sedentary lifestyle. The overriding goal of this program

is to achieve an outcome of weight reduction among all its participants.

II. NEED IDENTIFICATION

A. The Problem Under Study: Obesity in the U.S.

In recent generations in the United States, health problems have increased as new technologies

and lifestyles have affected the way in which Americans select, prepare, and consume foods. The

practice of preparing home-cooked meals, eating locally-grown food, exercising regularly, and

choosing a balanced diet has long been a goal but rarely the norm for most families, particularly

for those living in urban and suburban areas. Locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables are often

either not readily available in urban areas, such as Chicago (often referred to as "food deserts"),

too expensive for these families to afford or sometimes simply not valued. In turn, the healthiest

foods are often the first ones stricken from a family’s grocery list. Given these circumstances, in

addition to unprecedented demands from work, and consequent time away from home, parents

are opting to buy fast foods instead of preparing healthy meals at home. This behavioral reality

not only threatens the health of the family, but also provides a much more diminished social and

familial environment for everyone to enjoy.

Fast food consumption is not only eroding the family unit, in part, on a social and communal

level, but it is also clearly having deleterious effects on the physical health and well-being of all


members. With fast food eating comes an inordinately high number of calories, fat, and sodium

consumed in the American diet, all detrimental to the health of every age group because of their

low metabolism value, and the corresponding decrease in immunity associated with increasing

obesity (Tanaka, et al., 1993; Zalevskai & Blagosklonnaia, 1981). The U.S. food supply

contains a great number of foods that are high in energy with an appealing taste, but which are

low in nutritional value. As a result of such a diet, consumers are predisposed to various health

risks, which the U.S. Surgeon General (2007) lists as premature death, heart disease, diabetes,

cancer, breathing problems, arthritis, and reproductive complications, to name a few. And, the

number one problem resulting from a poor diet is obesity. In children and in adolescents, the risk

of suffering from heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes (formerly considered to be only an adult-

onset disease) increases with being overweight and obese. In addition to suffering from

increased risks of these physical diseases, overweight and obese children also suffer from

psychosocial consequences. Obese children and adolescents are targets of early and systematic

social discrimination. The psychological stress of social stigmatization can lead to low self-

esteem, which can many times lead to poor academic performance and social functioning as a

child, and can continue into adulthood. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Tips for

Parents - Ideas to Help Children Maintain a Healthy Weight." 4/26/10).

Obesity - Definition and Statistics

Obesity has been traditionally defined as being more than 20% over one's ideal weight, and this

ideal weight must take into account that person's height, age, sex, and build. It has also been

defined more formally by the National Institutes of Health (the NIH) as one's having a BMI

(Body Mass Index) of 30 and above. Defined either way, obesity is a significant contributor to

many health problems, increasing the risk of developing a number of diseases including, but not

limited to:

Type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes

High blood pressure

Stroke

Heart attack

Heart failure

Cancer (certain forms, including that of prostate, colon, and rectum)

Low metabolism, which leads to further weight gain

Low immune system, decreasing the body's ability to fight diseases

In the U.S., in 2003, 31.6% of children ages 10-17 years were overweight or obese

(NICH, National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality, Child Policy Research Center,

2003)

Obesity in youth - Illinois ranks 10th among the most obese states for youth ages 10-17

(Trust for America's Health, 2010)


Obesity for Chicago's youth aged 3-7 is 22%, which is twice the national average

(Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children, CLOCC - 2010)

Obesity is suspected to be a cause that predisposes affected individuals at higher risk of

infection by pandemic flu strains, such as the H1N1 virus (CDC, 2009)

Over the years, these realities have prompted the development of numerous initiatives by federal,

state, and not-for-profit organizations in Illinois and the entire nation to address the rising rate of

obesity among adults and children alike. These efforts have resulted in some improvement,

whereby obesity among children entering school fell from 24% in 2007 to 22% in 2008, although

the youth overweight score of children entering 6th grade is still 1.5 times that of the national

average (CLOCC, 2010). In 2009, the Obama administration (led by Michelle Obama) initiated

a nationwide program to combat obesity in children (http://www.letsmove.gov).

However, despite numerous efforts by many agencies, including the federal government, to

combat obesity, little headway has been made nationally (Illinois AgriNews, March 12, 2010).

In one study, Whitmore (2004) examined the role of school lunches in contributing to childhood

obesity. Whitmore observed that federally funded school lunch programs provide 40 to 120

calories more than do those lunches that are brown-bagged, resulting in a 2 - 4% higher obesity

rate among school lunch eaters. It was found that after a couple of years, school lunch eaters

experienced higher obesity rates than brown baggers. Therefore, if school lunches were made

"healthier", a significant decline in childhood obesity would occur.

It is now recognized that obesity at an early onset has long-term implications. Obese youth have

a high probability of remaining obese even as adults, and more so if either one or both parents

are also obese. A correlation has been established between obesity in parents and subsequent

development of obesity in their children (Review by Foy, 2000).

B. Need Statement

Given the steady increase in the number of school-aged children who are either overweight or

obese, as well as the number and variety of health risks associated with obesity as described in

the previous section, both physical and psychological, greater community involvement to combat

childhood obesity is sorely needed. Due to the number of households in which both parents are

working outside the home, as well as their increasing demands from their jobs, most families

often resort to eating fast food and other forms of quickly made, processed meals in an effort to

save time. Unfortunately, as outlined in the previous section, such choices continually made

over a long period of time can have detrimental effects on a child’s health and the health of

his/her entire family. However, by introducing the three key target groups of school-aged

children, their parents and, ideally and whenever possible, their grandparents, to a more


structured and sensible approach to healthier eating and healthier living, all three generations

within the family can learn how to shop for and prepare more nutritional meals, exercise safely,

and reap both the short-term and long-term benefits from following a healthy and active lifestyle.

To this end, the Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen Program was designed in an effort

to combat the rising rate of childhood obesity, and teach all key stakeholders (e.g., school-

aged children (including special needs children), their parents, and their grandparent) how to

prepare home-cooked meals, become more active and lead a healthier lifestyle overall. This

proposal outlines the need for the development and implementation of the Gift of Health &

Wellness Mobile Kitchen Program, a four-pronged initiative which will serve as a model to be

replicated nationwide, and which includes the Gift of Health & Wellness Lunch Box Program.

It is also proposed that this model be implemented initially in Chicago and in the surrounding

metropolitan area.

III. GIFT OF HEALTH & WELLNESS MOBILE KITCHEN PROGRAM

A. Program Overview, Target Populations and Selection Criteria

Program Overview

The Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen Program, On the Road to a Healthy Lifestyle

is an educational program designed to reverse the increasing rate of obesity within families and

communities nationwide, beginning, as proposed, in Chicago and the surrounding areas.

This program is designed to motivate and encourage school-aged youths (ages 6 to 14,

inclusive), their parents, and their grandparents, to lose weight (thereby reducing their risk of

encountering diseases), prepare healthier meals, become more physically active and strive to

develop a more sustainable healthy lifestyle. Specifically, the Gift of Health & Wellness

Organization will team with other partners to provide nutritional and lifestyle solutions to youths

aged 6 through 14 years in order to reduce their weight and obesity-related problems, including

diseases attributed to obesity, poor academic performance, low self- esteem, lack of exercise and

a sedentary lifestyle.

The Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen Program will use a four-pronged approach to

combating obesity, including:

1. Offering the Gift of Health & Wellness Lunch Box Program

2. Introducing Healthy Meal Preparation via the Mobile Kitchen Unit

3. Introducing Organic Gardening

4. Introducing Physical Activity


In addition to providing the Gift of Health & Wellness Lunch Box Program and three areas of

instruction to their target audience, Gift of Health & Wellness will be researching their subjects

and measuring the overall performance of this study, examining the effects of both the Lunch

Box Program and various areas of instruction on the health of their subjects over time. In

particular, three years of project implementation, observation, and analysis are proposed, to be

detailed in sections IV-VI (Methodology, Assessment, and Evaluation Plan).

Target Populations

The Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen Program targets three distinct segments:

1. At risk school-aged youth, between the ages of 6 and 14, inclusive (pending parent

approval).

2. Parents of those at-risk school-aged youth selected and approved for participation into the

program.

3. Grandparents of the same at-risk youth selected and approved for participation into the

program.

Selection Criteria

At-risk children will be the first group of subjects selected for this study, numbering 50 - 55

students per school (4 schools per year), based on the results of their free physical examinations

taken at the beginning of the school year, and associated assessed need and benefits to be gained

from participation in the Program. These students cannot participate in the study without the

approval and participation of their parents.

Ideally, should any parent-child pairing selected for observation also include a grandparent living

in the same household, the researchers of this study would encourage that grandparent to

participate in the same study, so as to have the opportunity to observe and measure the effects of

this program on three generations of one family, and promote all the benefits being taught

(preparing and eating healthy foods, achieving sustainable living, and exercising).

1st Year - 4 Schools Selected, with 50 - 55 students per school selected for the study

. 2nd Year - 4 New Schools Selected, with 50 - 55 different students (e.g., 2 classrooms) per

school selected for the study.


Measurement During Year 2

In addition, during the 2nd Year, those students and other subjects (possible parent and/or

grandparent) pulled for the study conducted during Year One will be followed up with and

their results (particularly weight reduction) will be evaluated.

3rd Year - Measurement of 2nd Year Subjects Takes Place.

Participants from the second year of the study will be evaluated beginning in Year 3, after they

have completed their first year of participation in the study. Once again, weight reduction and

other key indicators of success will be evaluated.

Based on the designated segments for observation, households selected for this study can include

up to three subjects (a child/student, his/her parent, and his/her grandparent, if all three family

members are living in the same household). The child will be the first member selected for this

study, based on his/her physical characteristics and the level of need and benefit to be gained

from participation in the program, as deemed by the researchers. His/her parent will also be

required to participate. Finally, if a grandparent is living within the same household as the

youth, s/he can also potentially be selected for participation in the study. In some cases, a

student selected for the program may only have a grandparent caring for him or her. If such is

the case with any potential subjects, this grandparent will need to approve the child's

participation in the study, and participate in it him/herself.

The groups selected for participation in the Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen

Program are vulnerable and should be examined because of their significantly increased risk of

developing a number of diseases which can stem from obesity. As health declines due to poor

nutrition and eating habits, children are much more likely to not only do worse in school but also

become less or not at all involved in extracurricular and community activities. As a result of

their lack of involvement in their community or extracurricular activities, they are more prone to

become agitated or simply get into trouble.

Community Problems to be Addressed - This project will attempt to tackle the rising rate of

obesity and its associated health risks among at-risk youth and their families by promoting the

preparation and consumption of nutritional foods, promoting exercise, and encouraging

sustainable living.


B. Purpose and Goals of the Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen Program

Overall, the goal of the Program is to instill the capability to prevent and control obesity and

other chronic diseases through healthful eating habits (choices), physical activity, and the

"right mindset", regarding sustainable living. The project will promote “Going Green” activities

for the environment, such as turning dormant backyards and empty window sills into organic

gardens, growing gardens in containers, and even developing gardens on rooftops and in vacant

city lots. This program will conduct studies to establish how inter- generational feeding habits

influence obesity in today's youth.

Specifically, the goals that test participants should achieve by the end of their first year on the

program are:

1. 10% reduction in BMI and/or a 20% reduction in weight

2. High self-esteem

3. Sustainable and cost-effective living through preparing healthy meals and growing any

of a variety of organic gardens (container, roof-top, window sill, etc.)

4. Greater physical mobility

5. Cultivation of living a healthy lifestyle among all generations living in one household

C. Program Objectives

In order to achieve the above-mentioned goals of the Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen

Program, the following objectives have been set:

1. To teach youths and their parents the importance of living a healthy lifestyle, including

preparing healthy meals, exercising, and growing an organic garden, thereby striving to

achieve a modicum of sustainable living.

2. To teach youths and their parents how to prepare healthy meals, incorporating the

information and methods offered by Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen

Program.

3. To teach youths how to grow various types of organic gardens, including container

gardening, transforming dormant backyards and empty window sills into organic

gardens, and growing gardens on rooftops and in vacant city lots.

4. To introduce exercise therapy and weight reduction to the target audience.

5. To conduct research by:

A) Analyzing data collected periodically through surveys administered to subjects by

researchers


B) Analyzing data collected through subjects' journal-keeping; and in particular, the

changes they experience as a result of participating in all aspects of the Gift of

Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen Program.

C) Assessing subjects’ attitudes toward and overall experience with documenting the

physical, psychological, and behavioral changes they undergo and thoughts about

the program in general with their peers through various social media sites such as

Facebook and Twitter.

6. To document food-eating habits in the home and record any disorders associated with

overweight conditions.

7. To allow this initial installation of the Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen

Program to serve as a model for subsequent programs to be rolled out nationwide.

IV. METHODOLOGY

The proposed duration of the Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen Program, On the

Road to a Healthy Lifestyle is three years. Four schools and 50 - 55 students per school will be

selected to participate in this program in each of the first two years, for a total of 400 - 440

children subjects to be observed. The first year's subjects will be evaluated during the second

year of the study, when the second group of students will undergo the study. During the third

year, the second group of subjects will be evaluated, after their year of participation is

completed.

(For selection process, see the sub-heading "Selection Criteria" on pages 7-8).

Test subjects (children/students) will receive a lunch prepared by Gift of Health & Wellness

every day at school for one year. Additionally, this study group, along with their parents and, in

many cases, grandparents, will learn how to prepare well-balanced meals for their children

(through Saturday classes taught by the Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Teaching Kitchen),

participate in physical exercises, and learn how to grow various types of organic gardens. A

detailed description of each of the four initiatives which comprise this program and its

methodology follows.

A. Gift of Health & Wellness Lunch Box Program

Whether prepared in the school or in the home, lunches have been cited as one of the leading

causes of overweight conditions in children. In different studies, it was shown that school-

based interventions resulted in reduced weight in school-aged children. By mainly altering food


quality and behavioral changes (watching less television, getting more physical exercise, etc.),

Gortmaker et al. (1999) showed that school-based interventions can reduce overweight

conditions in 6- to 8-year-olds. In another food-based study, Whitmore (2004) reported that

school-provided lunches were more likely to increase youth obesity than "brown-bagged"

lunches. It is quite apparent that a school-based intervention in the diet and behavior of youth

can lead to better body conditions.

Many obesity reduction interventions have tended to target only youths and ignore the role of

the parent. In cooking classes conducted every spring from 2008 through 2010, during Black

History Month in Saint Sabina Church in the south side of Chicago, participants reported the

following (Emma Theuri, pers. comm.):

1. Some parents/subjects never learned how to cook, and remarked how much better food

tastes when cooked at home, with added ingredients

2. Some parents never considered fresh vegetables as having nutritional value

3. Some parents were not aware of the great variety of food choices available to them

4. Children liked the flavor of home-cooked meals

As a result of participating in this class, participants were enthused to cook their own food at

least once a week, especially during the weekend.

Based on results from this and other childhood obesity-related studies, Gift of Health &Wellness

proposes to provide prepared boxed lunches to four schools during the first year, and four

schools during the second year of the program. Specifically, approximately 50 - 55 students per

school will receive boxed lunches every day, Monday through Friday, each year, based in large

part on their BMI. Specifically, at the start of the program, each student's body mass index

(BMI) will be documented at the beginning of the school year (this information will be made

readily available from the records of physical examinations that are administered to all students

at the beginning of the school year, free of charge). Those students selected for participation in

this study will be so chosen based on their need, and the amount of benefit they are expected to

receive from participation in the program, as determined by the researchers. Their BMIs

will be compared to the BMIs of students from control groups pulled from another school

that would be providing its own lunch throughout the year. At the end of the test year, the

BMIs of the test students from all four test schools will be compared once again to the BMIs of

the control group.

B. Meal Preparation via Mobile "Teaching" Kitchen

Another way in which Gift of Health & Wellness aims to address obesity is through providing a

well-balanced diet through the use of a mobile kitchen unit, and teaching both at-risk students

and their parents, as well as, potentially, their grandparents, how to prepare healthy and

nutritionally balanced meals.


During selected Saturdays, students, parents and ideally grandparents as well will attend

cooking classes. Proposed venues include schools, churches, or community centers. The

nutritional benefits and tastiness of cooking a diverse cuisine (Hispanic, African, Oriental or

European dishes) will be discussed.

The Meal Preparation via Mobile "Teaching" Kitchen program initiative is expected to have

a multiplier effect: of the 20 or so families who participate in each cooking class, they will be

expected to reach another 20 families, allowing the outreach to grow exponentially. The goal of

this sub-program, among others, is to promote a broadened cultural awareness for children and

their families by bringing diverse ethnic meals to the table at least once per week, in the home.

Genetic predisposition, meal portion size, timing of eating, and physical activity play a key

role in combating obesity. Lifestyle mentors made available in a support group setting will

discuss how making various lifestyle choices and implementing certain techniques can improve

one's health.

The information that families will gain from participating in the Mobile "Teaching" Kitchen

activity will include learning about the benefits of eating fresh produce and non-processed foods.

These Saturday seminars will give children, parents, and grandparents...all generations... the

incentive to actively think about the food they consume and the types of benefits their bodies will

derive from it.

In the end, the success of these Mobile "Teaching" Kitchen seminars will be determined by

analyzing the change in parents' behavior during the course of the program ( e.g., a) how often

they are now cooking at home compared to how often they were cooking at the start of the

program, and b) what types of meals they are now preparing).

C. Organic Gardening

Another key initiative that comprises the Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen Program

is teaching organic gardening. Gift of Health & Wellness proposes to teach youths, and their

families, how to grow various types of organic gardens, including container gardening;

transform dormant backyards and empty window sills into organic gardens, and grow gardens

on rooftops and in vacant city lots. Participants will also learn about some of the fundamentals

and benefits of composting and recycling. Finally, through participating in organic gardening

activities, families will realize the economic benefits that they can enjoy, saving them both time

(in preparing meals using locally-grown ("in the backyard") foods) and money (by not eating fast

food, going to restaurants, or taking carry out - all of which can cut very deeply into a family's

budget if done even a few days every week). But perhaps most important are the nutritional

and health benefits that children, parents, and grandparents alike will reap by eating natural,

home-grown fruits and vegetables. The benefits of organic gardening are endless. For instance,

it has been shown that organically grown food is significantly higher in the essential vitamins

and nutrients that the body uses in its defense against cancer. ("Benefits of Organic

Gardening", www.OrganicGardeningGuru.com). Since organic foods don't use pesticides,

organic gardeners are not polluting the environment. And, the simple act of organic gardening is

great for the spirit...participants should find it quite relaxing to feel the sun on their backs as they


plant, weed, or water. Researchers propose that it will allow participants to reconnect with the

earth, their health, and with each other, as a family.

Extending Reach

In addition to teaching children and families how to grow various types of organic gardens, Gift

of Health& Wellness will implement a "Tell-A-Friend" philosophy in their teachings, whereby

families will be encouraged to spread the word about the benefits of eating locally grown food.

Youths will learn how to identify plants and herbs as well as maintain a garden. Participating

families will make a pledge to donate an organic basketful of food to a person who is either

shut-in or vision-impaired, or even to any of the vulnerable groups who have worked with Gift of

Health& Wellness in the past.

D. "Measure Up" Physical Activity

The "Measure Up" component will introduce exercise therapy and weight reduction to study

participants. The youth and senior citizen participants alike will be shown various types of

physical activities and breathing techniques, and subsequently chart their progress.

1. Nature Path Walk - Study subjects will participate in Nature Path Walks, which will

provide the dual benefit of getting participants to exercise through walking as well as

teaching them how to identify plants.

2. Visual Big Projector Screen - Using interactive exercise and game technologies has become

a popular method among children and adolescents for partaking in physical activity (e.g., Wii

machines). Some technologies capitalize on kids' interest in computer or video interaction

while delivering a cardiovascular workout in a game format. GOHW proposes to incorporate

some form of interactive exercise in the GOHW Mobile Kitchen Program.

Once again, to measure the success of this particular component of the total Gift of Health &

Wellness Mobile Kitchen Program, researchers will use BMI and weight as two key metrics

for observation during the course of the study.

E. Key Metrics

As previously mentioned, the success of each of these four key components of the Gift of Health

& Wellness Mobile Kitchen Program will be measured. Measurement tools to be used include

pre- and post-program documentation of key physical attributes among study participants (e.g.,

BMI and weight); content of daily log journals to be completed individually by each program

participant, whether or not some form of organic gardening was maintained throughout the

course of the program, and whether or not participants remain physically active every day, or at

least, have developed a more physically active lifestyle by the end of the program compared to

their status at the beginning of the program.


Some of the key indicators of success which will be measured, depending on the individual

initiative, are:

1. Improved body mass index (BMI) and weight reduction

2. Improved class performance

3. Improved physical mobility

4. Heightened self-esteem

5. Healthy food choices to prevent health discrepancies

6. Increased awareness of one's connectedness to the earth and all living things as well as

their increased commitment to maintain a measure of sustainable living

V. ASSESSMENT

Gift of Health & Wellness will measure the success of the Mobile Teaching Kitchen program

periodically, throughout the life of the program, using four basic types of assessments. Each

type of assessment will measure a different aspect of the program's effectiveness, and is done at a

different time in the life of the program.

A. Reaction (Attitudes) Assessment

The first type of assessment that Gift of Health & Wellness will utilize is the Reaction

Assessment, which involves asking subjects how they felt about participating in the program,

whether they enjoyed it, etc. This type of assessment is the easiest to obtain, but provides the

least information about the effectiveness of the program. It merely provides an indication of the

degree to which our audience will have found the program to their liking. For the Mobile

Teaching Kitchen program, we will be asking participants to use a daily journal to record not

only their physical progress from participating in the various initiatives of the program, but also

their general thoughts on the program.

Use of Social Media

In addition to their own daily journals, student subjects will be asked to communicate their

thoughts and feelings, sharing their likes and dislikes, about the program as well as some of their

outcomes with their peers on social media, including Facebook and Twitter. It is surmised by

our marketing team that incorporating social media channels in the overall program as a tool

through which students can communicate with each other should foster their greater program

adherence, positive behavior change and overall high satisfaction with the program. The

students participating in the control group, however, will not be utilizing any social media tools

in their journey to better health.


B. Learning (Cognition) Assessment

The second type of assessment that Gift of Health & Wellness will utilize is the Learning

Assessment, which attempts to determine the degree to which participants have acquired some

knowledge as a result of the experience. Written or oral content matter tests can be used to

perform this type of assessment. Though acquiring knowledge does not always result in

behavioral change, it is still a good assessment to use in conjunction with behavioral assessment,

because participants should become at least aware of the many benefits of practicing healthy

cooking and eating, organic gardening, and exercise. Since "knowledge is power", they will at

least be equipped with the information needed to make better and healthier choices in their lives,

with the final choice being for them to act upon them, and make those choices.

C. Behavioral (Behavior) Assessment

The third type of assessment that Gift of Health & Wellness will incorporate is the Behavioral

Assessment, which seeks to determine the extent to which the program will be able to bring

about some actual change in the participant's behavior (e.g., are the participants doing anything

differently as a result of participation in the program?) This kind of assessment can be done by

self-report or reports from significant others, such as parents, teachers, neighbors, etc.

In this study, participants will be asked to "self-report", or to keep a log of their activity, as well

as their thoughts about the program. In addition, researchers will be evaluating their physical

progress periodically throughout the life of the program (e.g., evaluating various key metrics and

outcomes, such as BMI and weight, as well as assessing participants' adherence to the

program....maintaining their organic gardens, continuing their food preparations at home, and

maintaining some sort of exercise program on their own, etc.).

D. Impact (Outcomes) Assessment

The fourth type of assessment that Gift of Health & Wellness will utilize is the Impact

Assessment, which asks what type of real difference the program has made in terms of the extent

of the problem or issue in question (e.g., Did overweight subjects lose enough weight to no

longer be deemed overweight? Did obese subjects lose some weight? Did test subjects

participate in regular exercise, and in regular organic gardening/sustainable living? Did they

prepare meals at home more frequently by the end of the program than they did at the beginning

of the program?). Moreover, an impact assessment should be made in part to ascertain the

feasibility of extrapolating this program nationwide.

Through utilizing all four types of assessments, Gift of Health & Wellness will be able to

conduct the most comprehensive type of evaluation as possible. In order to conduct each type of

assessment accurately, the appropriate individuals will need to be selected. Moreover, one other

selection criterion which should be considered in selecting participants (youths between the ages


of 6 and 14, inclusive) is whether or not they are deemed by researchers to be able to effectively

track their own progress through self-reporting and logging their activity in their diaries. Given

the younger age of these test participants, the results of their self-reports may not always be the

most accurate. However, for this reason, it is important to obtain cooperation from their parents

and grandparents that they will work with their children (and supervise) the consistent and

accurate tracking of their various results and progress.

VI. EVALUATION PLAN

Gift of Health & Wellness research team will create five test groups among all participants, plus

five control groups, among all control participants. For this reason, it is ideal that 50 students

(and their parents and, in some cases, grandparents) are selected from each school. In this way,

50 can be evenly divisible by 5, to create the five test groups. A corresponding control group

will also be created for each test group, numbering 5 in total as well.

Test Group #1

In this group, the effects of participating only in the Mobile Kitchen Teaching Unit lessons and

Organic Gardening will be studied. Therefore, this test group of students will be participating

in only these two aspects of the study.

Test Group #2

In this group, the effects of participating only in the Mobile Kitchen Teaching Unit lessons and

Physical Activity will be studied. Therefore, this test group of students will be participating in

only these two aspects of the study.

Test Group #3

In this group, the effects of participating only in the School Lunchbox Program and Organic

Gardening will be studied. Therefore, this test group of students will be participating in only

these two aspects of the study.

Test Group #4

In this group, the effects of participating only in the School Lunchbox Program and Physical

Activity will be studied. Therefore, this test group of students will be participating in only these

two aspects of the study.

Test Group #5 – Full Treatment

In this group, all students will benefit from participating in all components of this study,

including physical activity, organic gardening, cooking at home, using techniques they learn


from the Mobile Teaching Kitchen Unit (though the parent and/or grandparent will be doing

most of the cooking at home), and the lunchbox program.

The diagram below illustrates the five test groups that will be created, in terms of the activities in

which members will be participating. One control group, who will not receive any treatment

throughout the course of the year-long testing period, each year, will also be created. As

previously addressed, a variety of factors will be evaluated and measurements made throughout

the course of the yearlong study, each year, across all test participants.

Activity

Participation

Organic Gardening

Physical Activity

Mobile Kitchen

Teaching Unit

Test Cell #1

Test Cell #2

School

Lunchbox

Program

Test Cell #3

Test Cell #4

Test Cell #5


VII. SUMMARY

The Gift of Health & Wellness Mobile Kitchen Program provides several tangible benefits. First, it

responds to the urgent need to develop effective and practical solutions and resources for attempting to

combat obesity and its associated health risks. Second, it helps build family bonds by implementing

classroom and at-home activities in which all generations can participate and learn how to lead a much

healthier lifestyle together. Third, it can serve as a model that can be disseminated to large numbers

of children and their families both locally, in our test markets, and eventually, nationwide.


APPENDIX


REFERENCES

1. Benefits of Organic Gardening.

Visit http://www.organicgardeningguru.com/unique-benefits.html

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2009. H1N1 Flu in The News.

Visit http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/in_the_news/obesity_qa.htm

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2010. Tips for Parents- Ideas to Help Children

Maintain a Healthy Weight. Visit http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/children/index.html

4. Foy, M. 2000. Ph.D. Thesis, "Family Systems Variables as Predictors of Eating Styles And

Body Mass Index". Virginia Tech, VA.

5. Gortmaker, S.L., Petersen, K., Wiecha, J. , Sobol, A.M., Dixit, S., Fox, M. K., and Laird, N.

1999. Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 153: 409-418.

6. Health Topics: Childhood Obesity, 2010. Report by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Accessed in http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/obesity/

7. Nie, H.H., Bent & Hull, C.H. 1970. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

8. Office of the Surgeon General. Overweight and Obesity: Health Consequences.

Accessed in: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_consequences.htm

9. Rates of Obesity for Chicago Children. Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children

(CLOCC) report, 2010: Visit: http://www.clocc.net/news/CLOCC_Data_R_FINAL.pdf

10. State Data, Illinois. Trust for America's Health, 2010.

Visit: http://healthyamericans.org/states/?stateid=IL

11. Tanaka, S., Inoue, S., Isoda, F., Waseda, M., Ishihara, M., Yamakawa, T., Sugiyama, A.,

Takamura, Y., and Okuda, K. International Journal of Obesity-Related Metabolic Disorders

1995: 19 (3): 209.

12. Whitmore, D. 2004. Do School Lunches Contribute to Childhood Obesity? Harris School

Working Paper #05.13. Visit: http://www.uncg.edu/bae/econ/seminars/whitmore.pdf

13. Zalevskaia, A.G. & Blagosklonnaia, laV. 1981. Various indicators of cellular immunity in

obesity. Effect of low-calorie diet. Prbl Endokrinol (Mosk). 27 (5): 35-38.

grant proposal (2nd draft) for gohw mobile kitchen program

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