The Shaping Healthy Choices Program is a multi-component, school- based intervention that was developed to improve children’s health.
This program integrates activities within four components, all working together to sustain positive health outcomes:
- Nutrition education and promotion
- Family and community partnerships
- Foods available on the school campus with an emphasis on regional agriculture
- School wellness policies
This program incorporates the following elements:
- Nutrition education, featuring a standards-based nutrition curriculum that utilizes inquiry-based and experiential learning approaches
- Instructional gardens to enhance nutrition education
- Cooking demonstrations that engage youth in exploring new foods using their five senses
- Family newsletters to promote parenting practices that have been shown to be effective
- Salad bars in the school lunchroom that feature regional produce
- School-based wellness committees to support and sustain the program
- School-wide health fairs comprising nutrition related educational booths and games, and the support and participation of community partners
The following resources were developed for the Shaping Healthy Choices Program:
- Shaping Healthy Choices in Action: A Best Practices Guide
- Classroom Curriculum
- Cooking Demonstrations
- Family Newsletters
- Wellness Policies
- SHCP News
