Pilot Evaluation of the Lunch and Learn Program: Increasing Culinary Literacy through the Utilization of Seed-to-Plate Nutrition Education

There is a global epidemic of chronic disease, much of which can be linked to poor dietary behaviors. Studies have indicated that nutrition education classes paired with cooking demonstrations can be an effective way to improve health status, but cooking classes can be difficult to plan and implement. Faculty and staff at the Nourish Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health (SPH) have developed a series of Lunch and Learn sessions to teach nutrition concepts to UTHealth employees and students. These sessions are held at lunchtime in the Culinary Kitchen and provide a seed-to-plate component, in which foods from the Holistic Garden are used as foci for the nutrition education lessons in a short, one-hour time period. Since the Lunch and Learn sessions were developed specifically for the Nourish Program, no evaluation has been conducted. The primary objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Lunch and Learn demonstrations on participant self-efficacy, skills, outcome expectations, intentions to consume more vegetables, and knowledge of cooking and nutrition. The second objective was to evaluate the structure of the Lunch and Learn program by obtaining feedback from dietetic interns. All participants who attended a Lunch and Learn session in fall 2017 received a pre- and post-test survey immediately before and after the nutrition education sessions. The pre-post survey evaluated participants’ current dietary habits, nutrition, cooking knowledge, and cooking self-efficacy, along with demographic information. Paired t-tests were used to determine individual changes pre- and post-session. In addition, an online feedback survey was distributed to the dietetic interns of the Lunch and Learn program. The purpose of the survey was for qualitative feedback and included questions about the structure of the program sessions, areas for improvement, and how the dietetic interns developed their own presentation and cooking skills. A total of 13 Lunch and Learn sessions were conducted, covering vegetable topics such as sweet potato, green beans, cucumber, eggplant, kale, cabbage, broccoli, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, carrots, beets, cauliflower, and parsnips. Attendance at the sessions ranged from 4 to 12, with total attendance of 108 participants. Participants were mostly white (50%), women (19.2%) and from UTHealth (73%). Nutrition knowledge significantly increased in 10 of the 13 sessions, including the sessions on sweet potato, cucumber, eggplant, cabbage, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, carrots, beets, and cauliflower. Outcome expectations significantly increased in 6 of the 13 sessions, including those about sweet potato, green beans, eggplant, cabbage, Swiss chard, and Brussels sprouts. while In addition, 9 of the 13 sessions had a statistically significant effect on overall pre/post-survey scores including those on sweet potato, cucumber, eggplant, kale, cabbage, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, beets, cauliflower. Feedback from the dietetic intern evaluation found that the interns appreciated working in pairs. Overall there was overwhelmingly positive feedback about the Lunch and Learn sessions. Dietetic interns felt well prepared prior to teaching their session. They also gained experience and improvement in their own presentation and cooking skills. The interns had many ideas for future sessions including focusing on disease states, culturally targeted sessions, and to-go meals for those working in the Texas Medical Center. The suggested areas for improvement included increasing audience interaction and increasing attendance of the sessions. This pilot study showed the Lunch and Learn sessions might be effective in changing nutrition knowledge and outcome expectations through cooking demonstrations and nutrition education. Recommendations for future sessions include increasing audience participation, utilizing strategies to increase attendance, and include interaction outside of the program. In addition, future research should focus on a more rigorous study design to definitively demonstrate the effectiveness of the program as a brief intervention for changing nutrition-related constructs. Future studies should also attempt to evaluate dietary intake changes as a result of attending the Lunch and Learn sessions