Husky Reads Effectiveness in Increasing Produce Preference and Food Group Identification in Preschool Children

Since 1998, University of Connecticut (UCONN) undergraduate students have volunteered as part
of a service- learning course to deliver a program called Husky Reads. Inspired by the
nationally accepted American Academy of Pediatrics' program "Reach Out and Read," Husky Reads
was first designed for promotion of health, nutrition habits and literacy by reading
health-oriented books to young children in pediatric and health clinics. The Husky Reads
curriculum now includes a series of 10 lessons designed to introduce preschool-age children
to MyPlate while improving fruit and vegetable literacy. Each lesson includes reading at
least one children's book, an activity or game, and food tasting to complement learning
objectives related to MyPlate and fruit/vegetable literacy. Undergraduate students enrolled
in the Husky Reads service- learning course at UConn or college students participating in the
paid summer internship program deliver the preschool lessons. Each team of 2-3 undergraduate
students is assigned 2-3 early care classrooms to visit and deliver Husky Reads lessons to on
a weekly basis. This series targets children at an early age because early childhood is a
pivotal time to influence the path towards healthy behaviors and away from obesity. Providing
food tastings and increasing exposure to foods like fruits and vegetables is especially
relevant because food preferences are developed in early childhood. Early childhood is also
an important time for introducing healthy behaviors because once obesity is established in
childhood; it often tracks through to adulthood and is difficult to reverse through
interventions.

The effectiveness of the Husky Reads curriculum on a preschool age child's MyPlate knowledge
and correct identification and liking of fruits and vegetables has not been established. A
more comprehensive evaluation is needed to establish if the program is effective and
contributes to quality improvement efforts. Findings from a prior evaluation suggest the
ability of preschoolers to identify blueberries, strawberries, carrots and broccoli increased
significantly after participation in one Husky Reads lesson. Although the findings were
promising, the evaluation design lacked a control group and relied on a classroom wide
assessment with hands raised as a response rather than measuring whether the ability to
identify the produce items changed for a given child after participation in Husky Reads.
Therefore, a more thorough evaluation of whether Husky Reads helps children learn to identify
select fruits and vegetables is still needed. Questions also remain whether Husky Reads
increases the odds of a child tasting and/or liking select fruits and vegetables as well as
recognition of MyPlate and foods in different food groups. The proposed evaluation uses a
pre-test/post- test control group design with paired data at the child level to explore
whether children who participate in Husky Reads have increased odds of identifying MyPlate
and food group concepts , and correctly identifying,trying or liking select fruits and
vegetables.

Inclusion Criteria:

- child attending center or school based early care with high family enrollment in
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP)

Exclusion Criteria:

- child whose parent has signed the "opt out" portion of the notification form.