Pick a Better Snack

Pick a Better Snack targets students in grades K-3 and their families. It was originally developed to reach students and families in Iowa schools, but could be extended to both public and private schools in other states. Pick a Better Snack could also be expanded to out of school sites in both rural and urban areas, such as summer camps or other after school programs. Many of the lessons connect well with farm to school programs. Setting: Schools, Community-wide Age: Elementary School, Parents/Caregivers Race: All Ethnicity: All

The primary component of the Pick a Better Snack program is a monthly nutrition education lesson delivered by a health educator. Each lesson introduces students to a new fruit or vegetable. The students learn about the fruit or vegetable in an interactive, age-appropriate manner as well as engage in a classroom physical activity break . Finally, students sample the produce and receive a sticker to wear home. Students also take home bingo cards and family newsletters. Fruit and vegetable fact sheets are available for educators or classroom teachers. The Pick a Better Snack campaign encourages children to "Fuel Your Fun" with fruits and vegetables, while the Play Your Way One Hour a Day  campaign energizes students to be active a minimum of sixty minutes every day. Marketing materials include school posters, videos, television, radio, print and social media posts. Original art files are available free upon request.

All materials needed for the implementation of the program are available online at no cost . Monthly Nutrition Educator Lessons Bingo Cards Family Newsletters Fruit and Veggie Fact Sheets Coloring Pages

An evaluation of the Pick a Better Snack program called Wave II was funded by USDA in 2011-2012. The full report can be found at https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-education-and-evaluation-study-wave-ii . The study was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics:  https://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(15)01814-6/fulltext .     In summary, the results showed a statistically significant increase in children's daily at-home consumption of fruits and vegetables (FVs) combined (as reported by parents of third grade students) for two intervention groups when compared to the control group. When compared with the control group, the "Direct Education plus Social Marketing" (i.e. BASICS Plus) intervention group increased consumption of FVs by 0.31 cups (p<0.01) .  The "Direct Education Only" (i.e., BASICS) intervention group increased FVs consumption by 0.24 cups (p<0.05). When looking at fruits and vegetables separately, b oth programs demonstrated significant impacts on at-home fruit consumption, however when comparing both interventions with the control group only BASICS Plus had an impact on at-home vegetable consumption.  Evidence Base: Research-tested

Based on the SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework, the following outcome indicators can be used to evaluate intervention progress and success.   Short Term (ST) Medium Term (MT) Long Term (LT) Population Results (R) Individual ST1 ,  ST3 MT1 ,  MT3     Environmental Settings       Sectors of Influence   MT12

Website: The Pick a Better Snack website ( https://hhs.iowa.gov/pick-better-snack/materials ) includes a program overview and materials to implement the program such as lesson plans, bingo cards, family newsletters, coloring pages, and fruit and vegetable fact sheets. Contact Person: Suzy Wilson, RDN, LD SNAP-Ed Nutrition Consultant 321 E. 12 th St., Des Moines, IA  50319 Phone: (515) 322-6413 Email:  suzy.wilson@hhs.iowa.gov Haley Huynh, MPH Healthy Eating Active Living Manager 321 E. 12 th St., Des Moines, IA  50319 Phone: (515) 782-2271 Email: haley.huynh@hhs.iowa.gov *Updated as of July 18, 2024