TY - JOUR
T1 - Fruit and Vegetable Preferences and Identification by Kindergarteners through 2nd-Graders With or Without the US Department of Agriculture Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
AU - Masis, Natalie
AU - Johnson, Susan L.
AU - McCaffrey, Jennifer
AU - Chapman-Novakofski, Karen
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior
PY - 2017/10
Y1 - 2017/10
N2 - Objective The US Department of Agriculture Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) allows schools to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) exposure by distributing FV as snacks. The objective of this study was to compare kindergarten through second (K-2nd)-graders who were exposed or not to FFVP for preferences and identification. Design, Setting, Participants The FV Preference Survey for K-2nd-graders contained 12 fruits and 12 vegetables, a 3-Likert scale (liked it, okay, don't like it), and an I don't know option. Data were collected from K-2nd-graders at 2 elementary schools near Chicago, IL (n = 435, FFVP school, n = 235 with 12 teachers; non-FFVP school, n = 200 with 10 teachers). Main Outcome Measure(s) Mean preference scores. Analysis Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, and multiple linear regression analyses compared school data (P <.05). Results There were significant differences in mean preference scores, with higher fruit scores at the FFVP school (1.8 ± 0.6) than at the non-FFVP school (1.7 ± 0.6). In contrast, there was a higher vegetable score for the non-FFVP school (1.3 ± 0.9) than for the FFVP school (1.2 ± 0.9). The school variable had weak impact on fruit ranking (multivariate coefficient = 0.01; P <.05). For fruits and vegetables and combined, there were fewer I don't know responses in the FFVP (χ2 = 149.080; P <.01). Conclusions and Implications At the FFVP school, fewer I don't know responses suggested better FV identification. Non-FFVP students had higher vegetable preferences than did FFVP students. Tasting a variety of FV may help with identifying FV, but more research is needed to determine the impact on preferences.
AB - Objective The US Department of Agriculture Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) allows schools to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) exposure by distributing FV as snacks. The objective of this study was to compare kindergarten through second (K-2nd)-graders who were exposed or not to FFVP for preferences and identification. Design, Setting, Participants The FV Preference Survey for K-2nd-graders contained 12 fruits and 12 vegetables, a 3-Likert scale (liked it, okay, don't like it), and an I don't know option. Data were collected from K-2nd-graders at 2 elementary schools near Chicago, IL (n = 435, FFVP school, n = 235 with 12 teachers; non-FFVP school, n = 200 with 10 teachers). Main Outcome Measure(s) Mean preference scores. Analysis Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, and multiple linear regression analyses compared school data (P <.05). Results There were significant differences in mean preference scores, with higher fruit scores at the FFVP school (1.8 ± 0.6) than at the non-FFVP school (1.7 ± 0.6). In contrast, there was a higher vegetable score for the non-FFVP school (1.3 ± 0.9) than for the FFVP school (1.2 ± 0.9). The school variable had weak impact on fruit ranking (multivariate coefficient = 0.01; P <.05). For fruits and vegetables and combined, there were fewer I don't know responses in the FFVP (χ2 = 149.080; P <.01). Conclusions and Implications At the FFVP school, fewer I don't know responses suggested better FV identification. Non-FFVP students had higher vegetable preferences than did FFVP students. Tasting a variety of FV may help with identifying FV, but more research is needed to determine the impact on preferences.
KW - child
KW - fruits
KW - preferences
KW - school
KW - survey
KW - vegetables
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jneb.2017.05.349
DO - 10.1016/j.jneb.2017.05.349
M3 - Article
C2 - 28743438
AN - SCOPUS:85025135333
SN - 1499-4046
VL - 49
SP - 752-758.e1
JO - Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
JF - Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
IS - 9
ER -