Leadership in Food Policy: Raising a Foodie Shelby Margaret Held University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
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University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK General Human Environmental Sciences General Human Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses 5-2014 Leadership in food policy: raising a foodie Shelby Margaret Held University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/ghesuht Recommended Citation Held, Shelby Margaret, "Leadership in food policy: raising a foodie" (2014). General Human Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses. 6. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/ghesuht/6 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the General Human Environmental Sciences at ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in General Human Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Leadership in Food Policy: Raising A Foodie Leadership in Food Policy: Raising A Foodie A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment olthe requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Iluman Environmental Sciences by Lauren Altimont Lauren Bevan Margaret Craig Cobb Emily Collins Shelby Held Carlyn Oswald Lindsey Rodhouse Kasey Spilman David Heath Stephens Taylor Thomas Kenna Wood Molly Catherine Young May 2014 lJniversitv ol Arkansas l'his thesis is approved for recommendation to the Ilonor's Undergraduate Council. Kcll-& A. W4,. Ph.D. Leadership in Food Policy: Raising a Foodie An Undergraduate Honors Thesis in The School of Human Environmental Sciences Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements fbr the University of Arkansas Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Pood and Life Sciences Honors Program By Lauren Altimont Lauren Bevan Margaret Cobb Emilly Collins Shelby Held Carlyn Oswald Lindsey Rodhouse Kasey Spilman David Stephens Taylor Thomas Kenna Wood Molly Young Mav 2014 ly A. Way, Thesis ABSTRACT The target of this study was obesity’s problematic rise in America. It was noted in the research that children developed habits that would potentially last a lifetime and which also dictated their medical fate. The focus of this study was to identify and decrease the factors of childhood obesity through education, healthy eating, and changes in food choices through student-planned, model menus that would target nutrition and healthy choices. Research linked obesity to the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and chronic diseases in children through decreased physical activity and poor diet due to the lack of essential nutritional knowledge. Other factors in childhood obesity included poor food preparation/creation, deceptive advertising, and an increased demand for fast-paced foods; leaving children’s recognition and desire for healthy food choices clouded. The purpose of this study was to change the children’s perceptions of healthy food items by developing healthy snack menu items for pre-school children. The study also assessed parents’ education levels in addition to parental perceptions and knowledge of healthy eating choices. The framework of the study will potentially become a model for ‘raising a foodie’ in other preschools or any Early Childhood Development Program locally and nationwide. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to Dr. Wood for help in compost research information and Dr. Rom for allowing us to do this group project. In addition, thank you to the Jean Tyson Child Study Development Center- parents, faculty, staff. -Lauren Altimont First I would like to thank Dr. Kelly Way. I’m not sure where we would be without your passion, humor, and complex way of thinking. Thank you for your willingness to lead us democratically and equip us for every step of this project; it has been a pleasure working with you. I would also like to thank my classmates. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with you all and I love that we were each able to bring our own unique aspect to this project, while always working cooperatively with one another. It has been great getting to know each of you, and I wish you all many blessings in your future. Finally, thank you to the staff at the Jean Tyson Child Development Center. Your willingness to let us work with you is very much appreciated. I have learned much throughout this process, and I know we certainly couldn’t have done this without your continuous cooperation. -Craig Cobb I owe a lot of thanks to Dr. Way, for first of all giving me the freedom to do what I enjoy in this study, to write, and guiding me into a technical style of writing that I wasn’t previously familiar with. I have learned so much from you, K Way, as you have allowed me to learn for myself. Also, because her passion for this study has been contagious, and she has played a phenomenal role as our fearless leader. Same goes to you, Ryan. I would also like to thank Heath, for the blessing (and curse) that I have experienced in a new-found zeal for yam-and-jam muffins and flavored chick-peas. -Lauren Bevan I would like to thank all of my teachers who have made an impact on my school career. With this research I would like to give a big thank you to Kelly Way for her great guidance and enthusiasm. -Emily Collins I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Cindy Moore, who told me about this class and helped me get this far. -Shelby Held Dr. Rom, Dr. Way, Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center, the Duke’s. -Carlyn Oswald I would like to thank my parents for their support they have given me in the last 20 years. I would also like to thank Dr. Way for being a great advisor and mentor through the process creating this thesis and my classmates for always being helpful and supportive. -Lindsey Rodhouse I would first like to thank Mechelle Bailey for presenting me with the opportunity of being a part of this project. In addition, I would like to thank Dr. Way and my classmates for the hard work they have contributed and for the sense of community created among us over the last year. Lastly, I would like to thank my family for their genuine interest and support of the project. -Kasey Spilman Thanks to my wonderful wife, Candice Bolander as well as my phenomenal advisor, Dr. Kelly Way. -Heath Stepehens I would like to thank the Jean Tyson Development Center because without them this project would not have been possible. They opened up their facilities to us and allowed us to complete this project. I would like to thank Dr. Way for her guidance and encouragement during this project. Without her we would have definitely struggled (or at least I would have). And lastly I would like to thank my classmates. Each person brought something to the project and made it into the incredible project we have today. -Taylor Thomas Dr. Kelly A. Way and Ryan Muniz for helping make our thesis possible. -Kenna Wood This thesis would not have been possible if it were not for the help of my mentors Dr. Jennifer Henk and Mardi Crandal. They have been there every step of the way to help guide me in what I want to do professionally and been excellent teachers in showing me all I need in order to achieve my goals. I also want to thank my father, Scott Young, for always listening to my midnight-hour rants about this project and helping me brainstorm when my writer’s block was at its worse; you kept me grounded when I thought I was going to lose it. To Lucy Jordan, my most trusted editor and beautiful, genius sister, you are my savior and thank you for editing for me even on your birthday. You are my rock. And to my fellow researchers and classmates, thank you for let me talk so much in class; we sure were a random mix, but I think it worked quite well. I will miss you much next year and wish you well. -Molly Young DEDICATION I would like to thank my father and mother for supporting me in all I do. My brothers, Thomas and Chris, for teaching me daily -Lauren Altimont During time I spent overseas in Eastern Europe the past two summers, I interacted with children who called dirt-floor shacks home, and wandered the streets of a big city’s bazaar all night long. I met gypsy kid’s, who were tortuously trained to beg for money to turn over to their master. The look on their faces, in these eyes, of children who speak a language I could never even begin to learn, who are growing up in a setting that most middle-class Americans would be disgusted by, is the same as the expressions I observed on the students of the JTCDSC before snack time. Kids are hungry. Kids need sustenance. And young children worldwide are typically dependent on someone else to provide them with this nourishment. So if I were to dedicate my participation in this study to a person or a body of people, I would simply dedicate it to the kids that need to eat, and they need to eat WELL. Because ultimately, that’s why we conducted this research, and it’s why we want to continue to engage in this topic of research. We want to see the quality of children’s lives change. We want them to grow into healthy adults, who aren’t at risk for chronic heart disease or type 2 diabetes. We want kids to live happy and healthy lifestyles. And my hope is that eventually, this study can create something that is applicable to children of every socioeconomic background. Food is necessary to sustain children; quality, nutritious foods should be made available to all.