Statewide Dissemination of a Nutrition Program: Show the Way to 5-a-Day

Increasing nutrition education in elementary schools is a goal for all nutrition educators. However, adoption of nutrition programs and curricula by busy teachers is a challenge. The “Show the Way to 5-a-Day” nutrition guide was developed to help young children increase fruit and vegetable consumption by having teachers partner with grocery stores to get produce contributed to the classroom. The guide was based on the principles of Social Cognitive Theory and developed and pilot tested with input from elementary school teachers. The objectives of the current project were to evaluate the systematic, statewide dissemination of this program; determine the importance of teacher training from the state department of health; and determine the factors distinguishing teachers who responded to and/or adopted the program from those who did not. Approximately 50% of teachers accepted a free guide and an additional 50% of these “respondents” reported implementing it. Use of the program was positively influenced by teacher training and, aside from age, there were no significant differences between teachers who adopted the program and those who did not.