After this presentation, attendees should be able to list two strategies that improved healthy eating behaviors and parental child feeding practices through the What’s Cooking program.
Providing access to nutritious foods is crucial for low-income populations, but increasing nutrition-related skills and attitudes such as food preparation, feeding practices, and positive perceptions around healthy foods to establish sustainable behavior change are also paramount for the development of healthy lifestyles and disease prevention. This qualitative study was designed to evaluate the What’s Cooking pilot program. A total of 15 parents/guardians were recruited from two Head Start schools through flyers, text messages, and emails. Two focus group sessions were audio-recorded to obtain information related to the program implementation and perceived outcomes and behavior change. Recordings of the sessions were transcribed and analyzed using constant comparative analysis (NVIVO, 2014). Themes included preparation of healthy foods, meals eaten at the table, children’s asking behavior for healthy foods, participant cooking and label reading skills, and engagement and interest of children in the cooking process. The qualitative analysis provided foundational information for the development of a conceptual framework for other nutrition program providers to understand the potential factors and pathways to increase healthy cooking and feeding practices in low-income populations, such as Head Start families. The study participants highly valued the What’s Cooking instructor’s culinary skills, application-focused approach, nutritional knowledge, and cultural sensitivity to connect with the low-income participants. In conclusion, the What’s Cooking program increased the implementation of sustainable food practices and healthy nutrition behaviors in Head Start families. Having highly qualified instructors will contribute to successful behavior change in participants and the success of nutrition programs like What’s Cooking.
