Funded by SNAP-Ed through the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), and administered through the PA Department of Human Services (DHS), the District’s Eat Right Philly (ERP) nutrition education program has provided community-based nutrition education to students in grades K-12 since 1999. The District and six other community partners, including the Food Trust (TFT), Drexel University, the Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative (AUNI), the Health Promotion Council (HPC), Einstein Medical Center, and the Vetri Community Partnership, offer nutrition education to all District schools.

Prior evaluations within the District and at SNAP-Ed sites across the nation have shown that, while lessons can significantly improve students’ knowledge of nutrition, changing behavior often requires a more intensive and environmentally-focused approach. Thus, with support and guidance from the USDA, FNS, and PA Nutrition Education TRACKS, ERP shifted its focus beginning in the 2017-18 school year to better support schools and communities in making healthy policies, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes so that students and their families are more likely and more able to make healthier choices using the knowledge gained through direct education.

The Office of Research and Evaluation (ORE) works in collaboration with the Eat Right Philly program office to evaluate the fidelity of implementation  and the impact of its direct education, community programming, and policy work. The evaluation is modified in partnership with ERP staff each year to ensure that planned evaluation activities align with program activities and implementation. ORE’s evaluations have covered a variety of program components including school nutrition lessons, indirect education, parent/caregiver education, SHARE produce stands, and large-scale policy, systems, and environment (PSE) efforts.

ORE is also working closely with the ERP program office to support schools in completing an online tool adapted from the CDC’s School Health Index by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. This needs assessment identifies school policies and practices that can be improved to support student and family health and nutrition.

Contact Dr. Erin McCrossan, Senior Research Associate: ecassar@philasd.org.