Project Overview EAT.RIGHT.NOW. (ERN) is a nutrition education outreach program, available to eligible students enrolled in The School District of Philadelphia (SDP). ERN is funded by the Pennsylvania (PA) Department of Public Welfare through PA Nutrition Education Tracks, a part of U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In the school year (SY), SDP’s Office of Research and Evaluation (ORE) launched a three- year Longitudinal Impact Study of ERN programming. Eighteen schools were randomly assigned to one of three cohorts: Nutrition-only lessons, Physical Activity-only lessons, and Combination (both Nutrition and Physical Activity) lessons. The objective of the study is to assess differences among cohorts regarding nutrition and physical activity knowledge and behaviors. The study population consisted of third grade students in Year 1 and fourth grade students in Year 2, which took place during the SY. The study is currently in its third and final year and is focusing on fifth grade students. Contributors/Stakeholders Implementation/Activities ORE administered pre- and post-surveys to fourth grade classrooms in all 18 schools included in the study. The tool remained identical at both time points and consisted of 36 items, with 23 items concerning nutrition and physical activity knowledge and 13 items focusing on behaviors. In addition, efforts to increase the fidelity of results were taken, including creating an intervention implementation schedule and holding a lesson training session for all educators. Student-Level Outcomes After eliminating 129 students who answered less than 50% of knowledge questions on either the pre- or post-survey, the final sample consisted of 812 students, split nearly evenly amongst cohorts. Differences in gender were noted, with females scoring higher than males on many knowledge measures. Regarding behaviors, there was a significant increase in weekly PA for the entire sample over time. Significant differences in vegetable consumption were observed between cohorts from pre- to post-survey, with the Combination group showing the only increase. In addition, more students in the Combination group reported breakfast consumption at post-survey compared to the other cohorts. Student-Level Outcomes, continued The Nutrition- and PA-only cohorts had the highest knowledge scores at post-survey in their respective content areas and also showed the greatest improvement in these scores over time (see Figures 1 and 2). However, the Combination group demonstrated positive knowledge gains in both of these areas and also showed the greatest increase in overall knowledge from pre- to post-survey (see Figure 3). SNAP-Ed EAT.RIGHT.NOW. Nutrition Education Program: Results from Year 2 of a Longitudinal Impact Study Contact Information Danielle Raucheisen, B.S. – Research Assistant SDP Office of Research and Evaluation (p): (e): EAT.RIGHT.NOW. Evaluation Team Kaitlin Moran, Ph.D., M.S.Ed. Danielle Raucheisen, B.S. Kelsey Weir, B.A. Figure 3. Mean Overall Knowledge Scores Figure 1. Mean Nutrition Knowledge Scores Figure 2. Mean Physical Activity Knowledge Scores ▪ USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) ▪ PA Department of Public Welfare ▪ PA Nutrition Education TRACKS ▪ Management Entity: Pennsylvania State University ▪ ERN Community Partners: Drexel, Einstein, The Food Trust, Health Promotion Council, Urban Nutrition Initiative ▪ ERN Program Director, Manager, and Coordinators ▪ ERN Nutrition Educators ▪ SDP’s Office of Research and Evaluation staff ▪ SDP staff: principals, teachers, etc. ▪ Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligible adults and students in SDP