Nutrition Education in Food Pantries: Perceptions of Pantry Personnel towards Implementation

Extension programming can be effective at delivering nutrition education to food pantry clients. This study aimed to understand the perceptions of food pantry personnel towards nutrition education. A mixed methods survey was administered to food pantry personnel (n=53). Most (62.3%) reported their food pantry was church-affiliated, and few (22.6%) reported any Extension collaboration. Qualitative themes included perceptions that nutrition education was resource intensive, clients were not interested in nutrition education, and differing attitudes towards nutrition education. When working with food pantries, Extension should educate personnel about the importance of nutrition education, offer resources, and facilitate programming

Cooking Frequency Associated With Dietary Quality in iCook-4H Youth Participants at Baseline

Background: Increased intakes of ready-made and fast foods paralleled with decreased homemade food consumption have been associated with increased rates of obesity. Researchers have shown associations between cooking self-efficacy (SE) and cooking frequency (CF) with dietary quality and weight status. Some cooking interventions have shown positive associations with dietary outcomes, such as increased fruit and vegetable intake and decreased fast food consumption. There is still much unknown about SE and CF, especially among youth. Objective: Determine baseline SE and CF and the associations with dietary quality and body mass index (BMI) of youth enrolled in iCook 4H. Methods: Youth (n=228, ages 9-10 years) completed online surveys assessing SE, CF, dietary quality, and demographics. Anthropometrics were collected to calculate BMI-for-age percentiles and weight categories. Descriptive statistics were completed for CF, SE, BMI categories, and demographics. Differences in CF and SE by sex, race, and participation in government assistance programs were determined through independent-sample t tests. Pearson correlations were used to assess the association between dietary quality and CF and SE. Associations between CF and dietary quality were assessed further through 2-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) that included CF and sex and CF and race as independent variables. Associations between SE and CF and BMI were assessed through ANOVAs. Results: Thirty-seven percent of youth were overweight or obese. Females reported significantly higher CF than males (P=.042). Cooking frequency was positively associated with dietary quality (P \u3c .001), but BMI was not associated with dietary quality. SE was not associated with dietary quality or BMI. Conclusion: Based on results, CF was positively associated with dietary quality among youth. More research is needed to assess how different types of cooking relate to diet and BMI. Interventions are needed to determine whether increasing CF leads to better diet outcomes

Cooking Frequency Associated With Dietary Quality in iCook-4H Youth Participants at Baseline

Background: Increased intakes of ready-made and fast foods paralleled with decreased homemade food consumption have been associated with increased rates of obesity. Researchers have shown associations between cooking self-efficacy (SE) and cooking frequency (CF) with dietary quality and weight status. Some cooking interventions have shown positive associations with dietary outcomes, such as increased fruit and vegetable intake and decreased fast food consumption. There is still much unknown about SE and CF, especially among youth. Objective: Determine baseline SE and CF and the associations with dietary quality and body mass index (BMI) of youth enrolled in iCook 4H. Methods: Youth (n=228, ages 9-10 years) completed online surveys assessing SE, CF, dietary quality, and demographics. Anthropometrics were collected to calculate BMI-for-age percentiles and weight categories. Descriptive statistics were completed for CF, SE, BMI categories, and demographics. Differences in CF and SE by sex, race, and participation in government assistance programs were determined through independent-sample t tests. Pearson correlations were used to assess the association between dietary quality and CF and SE. Associations between CF and dietary quality were assessed further through 2-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) that included CF and sex and CF and race as independent variables. Associations between SE and CF and BMI were assessed through ANOVAs. Results: Thirty-seven percent of youth were overweight or obese. Females reported significantly higher CF than males (P=.042). Cooking frequency was positively associated with dietary quality (P \u3c .001), but BMI was not associated with dietary quality. SE was not associated with dietary quality or BMI. Conclusion: Based on results, CF was positively associated with dietary quality among youth. More research is needed to assess how different types of cooking relate to diet and BMI. Interventions are needed to determine whether increasing CF leads to better diet outcomes

Cooking Frequency Associated With Dietary Quality in iCook-4H Youth Participants at Baseline

Background: Increased intakes of ready-made and fast foods paralleled with decreased homemade food consumption have been associated with increased rates of obesity. Researchers have shown associations between cooking self-efficacy (SE) and cooking frequency (CF) with dietary quality and weight status. Some cooking interventions have shown positive associations with dietary outcomes, such as increased fruit and vegetable intake and decreased fast food consumption. There is still much unknown about SE and CF, especially among youth. Objective: Determine baseline SE and CF and the associations with dietary quality and body mass index (BMI) of youth enrolled in iCook 4H. Methods: Youth (n = 228, ages 9-10 years) completed online surveys assessing SE, CF, dietary quality, and demographics. Anthropometrics were collected to calculate BMI-for-age percentiles and weight categories. Descriptive statistics were completed for CF, SE, BMI categories, and demographics. Differences in CF and SE by sex, race, and participation in government assistance programs were determined through independent-sample t tests. Pearson correlations were used to assess the association between dietary quality and CF and SE. Associations between CF and dietary quality were assessed further through 2-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) that included CF and sex and CF and race as independent variables. Associations between SE and CF and BMI were assessed through ANOVAs. Results : Thirty-seven percent of youth were overweight or obese. Females reported significantly higher CF than males (P = .042). Cooking frequency was positively associated with dietary quality (P \u3c .001), but BMI was not associated with dietary quality. SE was not associated with dietary quality or BMI. Conclusion: Based on results, CF was positively associated with dietary quality among youth. More research is needed to assess how different types of cooking relate to diet and BMI. Interventions are needed to determine whether increasing CF leads to better diet outcomes

Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a Culturally Adapted Cooking Curriculum to Address Dietary Acculturation and Food Security in a Refugee Population

Background: Sub-Saharan African refugees in the United States have reported food security rates up to seven times below the national average. Dietary acculturation issues have been noted as a contributing factor. However, there is no existing evidence-based or culturally tailored programs to address the unique dietary acculturation barriers to food security for this population.Methods: A four-phase, community-based curriculum adaptation process (information gathering [literature review, researcher informed, and formative research], preliminary adaptation design [data incorporation and steering committee], pilot testing [n=10 youth/adult dyads], and refinement) was applied to the existing evidence-based iCook 4-H curriculum using a five strategy (peripheral, evidential, linguistic, constituent-involving and sociocultural) cultural adaptation framework. First, the unique dietary acculturation barriers and facilitators to food security among Burundian and Congolese refugees living in the Southeastern region of the United States were explored through semi-structured interviews (n=18). Next, these data were incorporated into the existing curriculum with the aid of a multilingual member of the target population and a community-based steering committee (n=5). Finally, the feasibility (recruitment/retention, implementation, fidelity testing, and dyad assessment procedures) and acceptability (process and program evaluations) of implementation and evaluation of the culturally adapted curriculum were measured.Results: Pika Pamoja [Cook Together], an eight-session cooking curriculum for Burundian and Congolese refugee families, resulted. Adaptations were derived from varying combinations of four data sources (literature review, researcher informed, target population and steering committee), applying all five cultural adaptation strategies. Adaptations addressed the identified dietary acculturation barriers and facilitators to food security including difficulty with language, cooking, shopping, and transportation; social network support; reliance and miscomprehension of nutrition assistance programs; and limited culturally relevant food access. All 10 dyads (control and treatment) were retained throughout the pilot testing. All fidelity measurements were 91% or above. Participant feedback was uniformly positive.Conclusions: This study demonstrated a community-based cultural adaptation process that could be adopted to address dietary acculturation and food security issues among various refugee populations. Based on these results, Pika Pamoja was feasible to implement and was accepted by the target population. Larger scale studies to measure the effectiveness of Pika Pamoja to increase food security among refugee families are needed

Cooking Frequency Associated With Dietary Quality in iCook-4H Youth Participants at Baseline

Background: Increased intakes of ready-made and fast foods paralleled with decreased homemade food consumption have been associated with increased rates of obesity. Researchers have shown associations between cooking self-efficacy (SE) and cooking frequency (CF) with dietary quality and weight status. Some cooking interventions have shown positive associations with dietary outcomes, such as increased fruit and vegetable intake and decreased fast food consumption. There is still much unknown about SE and CF, especially among youth. Objective: Determine baseline SE and CF and the associations with dietary quality and body mass index (BMI) of youth enrolled in iCook 4H. Methods: Youth (n = 228, ages 9-10 years) completed online surveys assessing SE, CF, dietary quality, and demographics. Anthropometrics were collected to calculate BMI-for-age percentiles and weight categories. Descriptive statistics were completed for CF, SE, BMI categories, and demographics. Differences in CF and SE by sex, race, and participation in government assistance programs were determined through independent-sample t tests. Pearson correlations were used to assess the association between dietary quality and CF and SE. Associations between CF and dietary quality were assessed further through 2-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) that included CF and sex and CF and race as independent variables. Associations between SE and CF and BMI were assessed through ANOVAs. Results : Thirty-seven percent of youth were overweight or obese. Females reported significantly higher CF than males (P = .042). Cooking frequency was positively associated with dietary quality (P \u3c .001), but BMI was not associated with dietary quality. SE was not associated with dietary quality or BMI. Conclusion: Based on results, CF was positively associated with dietary quality among youth. More research is needed to assess how different types of cooking relate to diet and BMI. Interventions are needed to determine whether increasing CF leads to better diet outcomes

Feasibility and Acceptability of Implementing a Culturally Adapted Cooking Curriculum for Burundian and Congolese Refugee Families

Pika Pamoja (Cook Together) is an eight-session cooking curriculum for Burundian and Congolese refugee families, culturally adapted from the evidence-based iCook 4-H curriculum to address dietary acculturation barriers to and facilitators of food security. The goal of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of implementing Pika Pamoja. Researchers and a multilingual community aid implemented Pika Pamoja in a pre-post pilot intervention with randomized control (n = 5)/treatment (n = 5) dyads (youth/mother). Feasibility (recruitment/retention, implementation, fidelity testing, and assessment procedures) and acceptability (process and program evaluations) measures were collected. All 10 dyads (control and treatment) were retained throughout the study. All fidelity measures were 91% or above. The final youth assessment instrument included scales for cooking skills (α = 0.93), cooking self-efficacy (α = 0.90), openness to new foods (α = 0.81), and eating (α = 0.68), playing (α = 0.90), and setting healthful goals (α = 0.88) together as a family. The final adult instrument included scales for cooking, eating, and playing together (α = 0.68), kitchen proficiency (α = 0.89), and food security (α = 0.79). Participant feedback was uniformly positive. Based on these results, Pika Pamoja was feasible to implement and was accepted by the priority population. Larger scale studies to measure the effectiveness of Pika Pamoja to increase food security among refugee families are needed

The Causes of Leaf Hydraulic Vulnerability and Its Influence on Gas Exchange in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The influence of the dynamics of leaf hydraulic conductance (K leaf) diurnally and during dehydration on stomatal conductance and photosynthesis remains unclear. Using the model species Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype Columbia-0), we applied a multitiered approach including physiological measurements, high-resolution x-ray microcomputed tomography, and modeling at a range of scales to characterize (1) K leaf decline during dehydration; (2) its basis in the hydraulic conductances of leaf xylem and outside-xylem pathways (K ox); (3) the dependence of its dynamics on irradiance; (4) its impact on diurnal patterns of stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rate; and (5) its influence on gas exchange and survival under simulated drought regimes. Arabidopsis leaves showed strong vulnerability to dehydration diurnally in both gas exchange and hydraulic conductance, despite lack of xylem embolism or conduit collapse above the turgor loss point, indicating a pronounced sensitivity of K ox to dehydration. K leaf increased under higher irradiance in well-hydrated leaves across the full range of water potential, but no shift in K leaf vulnerability was observed. Modeling indicated that responses to dehydration and irradiance are likely attributable to changes in membrane permeability and that a dynamic K ox would contribute strongly to stomatal closure, improving performance, survival, and efficient water use during drought. These findings for Columbia-0 provide a baseline for assessing variation across genotypes in hydraulic traits and their influence on gas exchange during dehydration