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OUR VISION

Kids In Nutrition is designed to improve knowledge of nutrition and food sustainability to inspire food preference change in elementary kids. Our approach organizes university students to promote behavior change in dietary habits through a three-pillar intervention: education, food access, and family engagement. Given that children develop habits by age nine, KIN teaches kids about optimal nutrition and sustainability practices during their formative years. Early food literacy education has a tremendous downstream effect on carrying healthy and sustainable dietary habits into adulthood, thus building a foundation for chronic disease prevention, health equity, and environmental impact awareness.

Click to view our complete KINtroduction Presentation.

Each pillar operates in unison to empower children and families from all socioeconomic, cultural, and racial backgrounds to make informed decisions and take control of their health.

EDUCATION

FOOD
ACCESS

FAMILY
ENGAGEMENT

BEHAVIOR CHANGE

EDUCATION

KIN's first- and second-grade nutrition curriculum provides a foundation for food literacy and positive dietary change, while the fifth-grade food sustainability curriculum educates about the link between our food system and the environment. KIN targets the early years of cognitive development to instill lifelong healthy and environmentally conscious habits. Teams of five university volunteer instructors visit local elementary classrooms (in-person or virtually) to teach once a week for seven weeks. Lessons are evidence-based and include interactive visuals, hands-on games, physical activity, and group work. Our university-to-elementary student mentorship exerts a powerful influence on behavior change by making nutrition topics relevant and engaging. This student-run model is an innovative, cost-effective, replicable, and sustainable strategy for maintaining program continuity and shaping youth dietary habits. Our goal is to operate at every major university in the United States and have a lasting impact on public and environmental health outcomes.

FOOD ACCESS

Food access allows families of all socioeconomic circumstances to practice healthy eating. KIN collaborates with local community organizations and businesses to provide students with ingredients to prepare healthy home-cooked meals with their families. KIN's recipes are relevant to cultural contexts, individual preferences, and food allergies and sensitivities. We offer food-environment resources for information on accessing local and affordable food, leveraging community resources, navigating benefits and public assistance initiatives, and incorporating healthy meals into any diet while on a budget. This helps lift the financial constraints associated with healthy eating and promotes food access equity for low-income households.

FAMILY
ENGAGEMENT

numerous parents face the challenge of needing additional time and knowledge to effectively impart and implement healthy eating habits in their children's lives. In response, our KINcentive Program provides kids with weekly challenges, newsletters, worksheets, and online resources to encourage engagement at home. Additionally, KIN has developed an adaptable family workshop model to include discussion and activities on community resources, SNAP and WIC benefits, youth dietary behaviors, meal preparation, and overcoming systemic health barriers. KIN offers all resources in Spanish for our Latino families, and we aim to provide additional multi-lingual resources.

Organic Carrots

Annual Impact Reports

Starting in 2021, Kids In Nutrition will be providing downloadable annual impact reports available to the public.

Joy of Harvest

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