SNAP-ED Program Evaluation Results
2015-2016 State Results
Let's Eat for the Health of It!
Nutrition Education
Submitted By:
Melissa Cater, PhD
Rebecca Gravois
For:
Diane Sasser, PhD
Snap-Ed Project Director
This material was funded by USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – SNAP. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) provides nutrition assistance to people with low income. It can help you buy nutritious foods for a better diet. To find out more,
contact 1-888-LAHELPU or visit www.dcfs.louisiana.gov to download an application for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP).
The LSU AgCenter and LSU provide equal opportunities in programs and employment. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and
employer.
The 2015-2016 evaluation plan for the Snap-Ed program sought to answer the following questions:
1. What changes occur in Snap-Ed eligible program participants’ nutrition and physical activity
knowledge and attitudes?
2. What changes occur in Snap-Ed eligible children’s vegetable preferences, specifically broccoli,
green peppers, spinach, and tomatoes.
In order to answer the first evaluation question, a pretest-posttest design was used to collect data
from Snap-Ed eligible adult, youth (ages 9-13), and teen (ages 14-18) program participants. Eleven
parishes provided a useable set of matched pretests and posttests for analysis (N = 626; Adult n = 70,
Teen n = 49, Youth n = 507): Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Caldwell, Jefferson, Orleans, Ouachita,
Rapides, Richland, Tangipahoa, and Union.
Participants’ nutrition and physical activity beliefs and attitudes were assessed using the Theory of
Planned Behavior as the guiding theoretical framework. A pretest-posttest design was used. Two
aspects of nutrition beliefs and attitudes were measured:


perceived behavioral control (ability to perform a given behavior; PBC) of healthy fruit and
vegetable choices
o Represented by the mean score of four items measured on a 4-point, Likert-type scale
(1=Never, 2=Some of the time, 3=Most of the time, 4=All of the time)
attitude about healthy food choices
o Represented by the mean score of four items measured on a 4-point, Likert-type scale
(1=Never, 2=Some of the time, 3=Most of the time, 4=All of the time)
Analysis revealed a statistically significant increase (t506 = 2.548, p < .01) in youths’ belief that they
could make healthy vegetable choices and in their attitude about healthy food choices (t506 = 3.612, p <
.1 ; see Table 1).
Table 1
Pretest and posttest means and mean changes for adult, teen and youth Snap-Ed program participants’
nutrition beliefs and attitudes
Group
Pretest M (SD)
Posttest M(SD)
Change
Vegetable PBC
Adults
3.23
3.30
0.07
Teens
3.06
3.01
-0.05
Youth
2.73
2.83
0.10**
Fruit PBC
Adults
3.36
3.31
-0.05
Teens
3.38
3.26
-0.12
Youth
3.24
3.17
-0.07
Healthy Food Choices Attitude
Adults
2.90
2.88
-0.02
Teens
2.30
2.45
0.15
Youth
**p < .01
2.51
2.63
0.12**
Physical activity (PA) beliefs and attitudes were also assessed:


perceived behavioral control of physical activity
o Represented by the mean score of three items measured on a 4-point, Likert-type scale
(1=Never, 2=Some of the time, 3=Most of the time, 4=All of the time)
physical activity attitude
o Represented by the mean score of six items measured on a 5-point, semantic
differential scale (-2=Really like me, -1=Like me, 0=I’m not sure, 1=Like me, 2=Really like
me). This particular scale used anchor words at each end of the response categories.
More affirmative words anchored the positive end of the scale while more negative
words were used on the opposite end of the scale.
Analysis revealed a statistically significant increase (t214 = 3.380, p < .001) in youths’ belief that physical
activity was within their control (PBC). Youths’ attitude about physical activity also showed a
statistically significant improvement (t506 = 3.801, p < .001; see Table 2).
Table 2
Pretest and posttest means and mean changes for adult, teen and youth Snap-Ed program participants’
physical activity beliefs and attitudes
Group
Pretest M (SD)
Posttest M(SD)
Change
Physical Activity PBC
Adults
2.50
2.89
0.39
Teens
2.94
3.07
0.13
Youth
2.68
2.87
0.19***
Physical Activity Attitude
Adults
0.95
1.06
0.11
Teens
1.19
1.12
-0.07
Youth
0.98
1.13
0.15***
***p < .001
Participants’ knowledge of the recommended daily servings of fruits, vegetables, and dairy were
assessed. Both youths’ (t503 = 4.551, p < .001; see Table 3) and teens’ (t47 = 3.580, p < .01; see Table 3)
knowledge of recommended dairy servings showed a statistically significant increase.
Table 3
Pretest and posttest means and mean changes for adult, teen and youth Snap-Ed program participants’
knowledge of recommended daily vegetable, fruit, and dairy servings
Group
Pretest M (SD)
Posttest M(SD)
Change
Knowledge of Recommended Daily Vegetable Servings
Adults
42.65
44.12
1.47
Teens
10.42
14.58
4.16
Youth
25.30
Knowledge of Recommended Daily Fruit Servings
Adults
29.41
Teens
33.33
Youth
22.86
Knowledge of Recommended Daily Dairy Servings
Adults
14.71
Teens
8.33
Youth
19.25
**p < .01; ***p < .001
22.51
-2.79
29.41
45.83
28.83
0.00
12.50
5.97
26.47
33.33
30.56
11.76
25.00**
11.31***
Intention to change behavior is often linked to later adoption of better practices. This evaluation also
explored participants’ stage of intention to change using the Trans-theoretical Model (Prochaska,
1992). This model considers five stages of change:





Pre-contemplation: not thinking about change
Contemplation: starting to think about change
Preparation: ready to change
Action: accomplishing some level of change within the last 6 months
Maintenance: sustaining a change for over 6 months
This evaluation explored two aspects of intention to change: physical activity and food choices. At the
beginning of the program, participants were distributed across all levels of intention from precontemplation to maintenance. A post assessment of intentions to change showed some movement
from lower levels of pre-contemplation to higher levels of maintenance (see Table 4).
Table 4
Number and Percentage of Participants at Each Stage of Intention to Change Physical Activity at Pretest
and Posttest
Pretest
Posttest
Stage of Physical Activity
Change
Percentage
Percentage
na
nb
Adults
Pre-Contemplation
7
10.3
6
8.6
Contemplation
17
25.0
21
30.0
Preparation
16
23.5
18
25.7
Action
14
20.6
20
28.6
Maintenance
14
20.6
5
7.1
Teens
Pre-Contemplation
3
6.4
3
6.3
Contemplation
3
6.4
3
6.3
Preparation
9
19.1
4
8.3
Action
7
14.9
12
25.0
Maintenance
25
53.2
26
54.2
Youth
Pre-Contemplation
23
4.5
Contemplation
93
18.3
Preparation
137
27.0
Action
83
16.3
Maintenance
172
33.9
aFour participants did not answer this question at pretest
bTwo participants did not answer this question at posttest
37
73
128
114
155
7.3
14.4
25.2
22.5
30.6
The second aspect of intention to change that this evaluation explored was intentions to make healthier
food choices. Again, a general shift to a higher stage of change was evidenced (see Table 5).
Table 5
Number and Percentage of Participants at Each Stage of Intention to Change Food Choices at Pretest and
Posttest
Pretest
Posttest
Stage of Food Choice Change
Percentage
Percentage
na
nb
Adults
Pre-Contemplation
7
10.3
1
1.4
Contemplation
22
32.4
20
29.0
Preparation
13
19.1
27
39.1
Action
17
25.0
14
20.3
Maintenance
9
13.2
7
10.1
Teens
Pre-Contemplation
6
12.8
7
14.6
Contemplation
8
17.0
6
12.5
Preparation
10
21.3
15
31.3
Action
15
31.9
13
27.1
Maintenance
8
17.0
7
14.6
Youth
Pre-Contemplation
41
8.1
40
7.9
Contemplation
143
28.1
130
25.6
Preparation
126
24.8
144
28.4
Action
115
22.6
114
22.5
Maintenance
83
16.3
79
15.6
aFour participants did not answer this question at pretest
bFour participants did not answer this question at posttest
Body Quest Program Results
In order to answer the evaluation question of what changes occur in children’s vegetable preference, a repeated
measures evaluation of the Body Quest program was conducted. Children were asked to respond to a series of
questions about each vegetable at five different points during the program. Matched data were available from
216 children, representing approximately half of the children who participated in the program. The following 11
parishes provided data: Claiborne, Franklin, Jefferson, Orleans, Ouachita, Rapides, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne,
Vernon, Washington, and Webster.
The vegetable that children made the most change in liking, willingness to try again in the future, and willingness
to ask family member to buy for them was spinach. The changes in liking and willingness to try again and buy
that were observed for both spinach and broccoli were highly significant changes.
Broccoli
Children’s perceptions of liking the vegetable
Children’s assertion of whether or not they will try the vegetable in the future
Children’s declaration of whether or not they will ask their families to buy the
vegetable
Green Pepper
Children’s perceptions of liking the vegetable
Children’s assertion of whether or not they will try the vegetable in the future
Children’s declaration of whether or not they will ask their families to buy the
vegetable
Spinach
Children’s perceptions of liking the vegetable
Children’s assertion of whether or not they will try the vegetable in the future
Children’s declaration of whether or not they will ask their families to buy the
vegetable
Tomato
Children’s perceptions of liking the vegetable
Children’s assertion of whether or not they will try the vegetable in the future
Children’s declaration of whether or not they will ask their families to buy the
vegetable
***p < .001
Number of children
making a positive change
28***
20***
28***
Number of children
making a positive change
4
15
11
Number of children
making a positive change
50***
39***
47***
Number of children
making a positive change
0
15
5
2015-2016
If . ..
Nutrition
Assistance
-R>od
Program
Physical Activity
intend to improve
intend to improve
intend to improve
Adult
Teen
Youth
intend to improve
intend to improve
intend to improve
Adult
Teen
Youth
,
Adult : Self-Confidence
in Performing Physical
Activities
•
Dairy
Knowledge
Adult: Dairy
Knowledge
•
•
Dairy
Knowledge
Making
Healthy
Choices
Attitudes abou t
Physical Activity
Teen: Making
Healthy Choices
Self-Confidence in
Performing Physical
Activities
•
Self-Confidence
in Increasing
Vegetable
Consumption
\IStt : ....
11
ssistance
Program
Putting Healthy Food
A
2015-2016
Within Reach
BO DY
FO O D
AFTER the program:
72% of children
liked spinach
BEFORE the
program started.
77°/o
of children
liked spinach.
UEST
O F T H E W A R R IO R
75°/o
of children intend to eat
spinach in the future.
66% of children say
they will ask their
parents to buy spinach.
AFTER the program:
43°/o
Only 42% of children
liked peppers
BEFORE the
program started.
O/ of children
45 10
liked peppers.
13 schools
11 parishes
of children intend to eat
peppers in the future.
More than 400
children reached
26 classrooms
---
39% of children say
they will ask their
parents to buy
peppers.
IT\
\;;;J
7-14 hours of
programming
5 vegetab le
tastings
..
This material was funded by USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - SNAP. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides
nutrition assistance to people with low income. It can help you buy nutritious foods for a better diet.To find out more, contact 1-888-LAHELPU or visit
www.dcfs.louisiana.gov to download an application for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The LSU AgCenter and LSU provide equal opportunities in programs and employment. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.