BLENDING NUTRITION AND

EDUCATION
Your Presenters
Melissa-Horn Speck MS, RDN/LDN Megan Parks RDN/LDN
 History of Nutrition in Schools

• National School Lunch Program (NSLP) – 1946

• Started as a result of almost ½ of the draft eligible men were found to be unfit
for service due to malnutrition related conditions.
• Meals designed to provide 33 – 50% of a child's daily caloric needs

• National School Breakfast Program (NSBP) – 1975

• Began as a pilot program in 1966

• Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) – 2010

• First major change to NSLP since 1975

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Practice paper of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Comprehensive nutrition
programs and services in schools. 2018: 118(5):920-931.
 Nutrition in the School Setting
2010 Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA)
• Community Eligibility Provision
• Summer Food Service Program
• After School Snack Program
• Allows Offer vs. Serve
• Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
• Each district is tasked to set their own requirements for nutrition
education within their wellness policy.
• By 2014, 90% of district policies included goals for nutrition education.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Society for Nutrition Education and
Behavior, and School Nutrition Association: Comprehensive Nutrition Programs and Services in Schools. 2018: 118(5): 913-919.
Nutritional Requirements
• Lunch must include:
• Meat/meat alternative
• Grains
• Half of the grains need
to be whole grain rich
• Fruits
• Vegetables (weekly)
• Dark green: ½ cup
• Red orange: ¾ cup
• Beans/peas: ½ cup
• Starchy vegetables: ½
cup
• Other: ½ cup
• Fluid milk
• Low-fat unflavored or
fat-free flavored
Nutrition Education:

“Nutrition education is defined as all of the

educational activities that engage students,
not only through direct classroom education
but also through other venues throughout
the school day that are designed to motivate
students and facilitate adoption of healthful
food choices accompanied by a supportive
school environment.”

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and

Dietetics, Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior, and School Nutrition
Association: Comprehensive Nutrition Programs and Services in Schools. 2018:
118(5): 913-919.
 Implementing Nutrition Education

• Targets specific behaviors and

practices.
To achieve positive
• Includes experiences in
behavior change, nutrition
growing and preparing foods.
education needs to be
• Delivers coherent and clearly more than a list of good
focused curricula linked and bad foods.
closely to national and local
educational standards.
• Provides appropriate teacher
training and support
 It’s All About Kids

• The CDC’s Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child

(WSCC) model
• School Readiness Assessment
• IAK planning meeting with schools
• Tulsaplay.org
Blender Bike Program

Community partnerships
brought the Blender Bike
into our lives!
Bike Club
Started in 2014-2015 school year in
1 elementary school

By 2018-2019 Bike Club was

operating in 19 schools within Tulsa
Public Schools

20-25 week club for 20 students to

learn life skills through cycling

Invites a number of community

partners to present at each club.
Blender Bike Program
Beginning Fall 2017, we launched our Blender Bike
Program in two different school districts.
Blender Bike Program
 Blender Bike Program
Post-Test Results
2017-2018 2018-2019
100 100
90 90
80 80
70 70
Percentage

Percentage
60 60
50 50
40 40
30 30
20 20
10 10
0 0
Dairy Food Calcium Dairy Servings Behavior Dairy Food Calcium Dairy Servings Behavior
Group Change Group Change
Initial 60-Day Initial 60-Day
 Lessons Learned

• Partnership with Child Nutrition

• Evaluations
• Plickers
• Recipes
• Some schools will change
• Stations
• Changing to decrease transitions
 Blender Bike Program

Nutrition Education reached: Additional Events:

• 8223 students in 2015-2016 • Farm to Market
• 16,449 students in 2016-2017
• End of School Year celebrations
• 24,204 students in 2017-2018
• STEM and Math & Literacy nights

2018-2019 numbers are still be compiled

 Cooking Club

It all started
with a
garden…
Cooking Club

Developing
curriculum:
Always a
work in
progress

2017 -2018
 Cooking Club
• Two 5-week back-to-back sessions
• 16 students each; 32 total students
• Materials we bring with us
o Bowls
o Measuring devices
o Whisks
o Spoons
o Induction burners
o griddles

• Materials the schools provide

o Pantry supplies
o Paper goods
o Perishable food items (purchased
day of)
Cooking Club
Cooking Club
Cooking Club Data
2017-2018
100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Carbohydrates Potatoes Fruit Roll-up Nutrients in Nutrients in Fiber Measuring Behavior
Protein Milk
Pre-Test Post-Test
Cooking Club Data
2018-2019
100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Whole Grains Potatoes Fruit Roll-Up Nutrients in Protein Ounce Vegetables Measuring Behavior
Dairy Equivalents
Pre-Test Post-Test
Cooking Club
Other Community Collaborations
Thank You!
• Any questions?
Resources
• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Society for Nutrition Education
and Behavior, and School Nutrition Association: Comprehensive Nutrition Programs and Services in Schools. 2018: 118(5):
913-919.
• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Practice paper of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Comprehensive nutrition
programs and services in schools. 2018: 118(5):920-931.
• Au, L., Gurzo, K., Gosliner, W., Webb, K., Crawford, P., & Ritchie, L. Eating School Meals Daily is Associated with
Healthier Dietary Intakes: The Healthy Communities Study. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics,
2018:118(8). 1474-1481.
• Hersch, D., Perdue, L., Ambroz, T., Boucher, JL. The Impact of Cooking Classes on Food-Related Preferences, Attitudes
and Behaviors of School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review of the Evidence, 2003-2014. Prev Chronic Dis 2014;11:140267
• SEPA Science Education Partnership Award. FoodMASTER (Food, Math and Science Teaching Enhancement Resource.
https://www.foodmaster.org/. 2019. Accessed January 15, 2019.
• Oklahoma State Department of Education. Oklahoma Academic Standards & Assessments,, 2017-2018. Updated May 30,
2019. https://sde.ok.gov/oklahoma-academic-standards
• U.S. Department of Agriculture. Children. https://www.nutrition.gov/subject/life-stages/children. Accessed January 15,
2019.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture. National School Lunch Program. https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp. Accessed January 15,
2019.
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC). November 14, 2018.
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/wscc/index.htm
 Contact Us
www.tulsaplay.org
Melissa Horn-Speck MS, RDN/LDN

mhspeck@tulsa-health.org IAKTulsa

Megan Parks RDN/LDN

IAKTulsa
mparks@tulsa-health.org

IAKTulsa