Promoting Healthy Eating Through

Culturally Relevant Food Literacy Education

The environmental change facilitated by this curriculum intervention was to introduce culturally relevant “food literacy” curricula to a number of schools. By “food literacy” curricula we are referring to food-based lessons that teach key healthy eating concepts through hands- and minds- on student activities in which student acceptance of healthier foods is fostered through student preparation and consumption of healthy foods. The sensory component of the lesson increases retention of core nutritional concepts. Student involvement in the preparation of healthy recipes increases a sense of ownership, acceptance, and appreciation of healthy and sometimes unfamiliar foods. Healthy peer pressure to respond positively to these foods also comes into play.

The main intended outcome of this environmental change effort was to increase student acceptance of and appreciation for healthy whole foods that are low-fat and increase their consumption of fresh, preferably organic fruits and vegetables.

The environmental change began in 2001 and is still in progress. Education is always an ongoing process. New partners have joined since the initial year of implementation. The lead site has developed a healthy eating/wellness policy which was approved by our local school board and shared with all partner school sites with encouragement to develop their own school policies for nutrition education. In addition both the lead site and at least one partner are actively pursuing healthy, culturally driven school food service programs. We see this as a significant achievement towards the fulfillment of our goal of contributing to the overall dietary quality of our students.

Environmental Change Initiation

The idea for this intervention came from 2 years of curriculum development and piloting. Two curriculum sets were generated through a trial and error classroom piloted curriculum development and revision process.

“Ka La i ka Mauli Ola” is a bilingual (Hawaiian and English Language) family based curriculum set that introduces key nutrition concepts through modules which are completed by families as “homework” assignments. This curriculum set follows a somewhat traditional approach to teaching nutrition concepts. Families, for instance are asked to view a video “The Seasons of Haloa” which discusses healthy eating from a traditional Hawaiian point of view and engage in a discussion about what they learned or felt while watching the video. Other modules ask family members to go through their cupboards and analyze carbohydrate foods according to the level of processing, to learn about a traditional Hawaiian diet pattern and plan a meal according to this pattern, and to take a quiz and learn together about myths regarding protein. Family participation in this curriculum project was disappointing, but the modules provide an excellent resource for teacher reference and background information to supplement lesson planning.

After completing “Ka La i ka Mauli Ola” we learned of the doctoral work of Antonia Demas, Ph.D. (Cornell University, 1995). Dr. Demas demonstrated through meticulous classroom and cafeteria research that a teaching methodology that involved learning about cultural foods through preparing those foods and gaining understanding of their nutritional and cultural values significantly increased student acceptance of those same foods when they were introduced in the cafeteria as compared with a control group.

We experimented with this methodology with our students who are predominantly native Hawaiian and second language speakers of Hawaiian language. The learning process proved very effective and culturally appropriate. “Na ‘Ono Puni Honua” (a Hawaiian language curriculum set) was the result of this new pedagogical approach. We contacted Dr. Demas and obtained her permission to disseminate her curriculum “Food is Elementary” as well. In September of 2001 we hosted a curriculum training and teacher in-service workshop for 30 Hawaiian language immersion teachers from 3 islands. Dr. Demas was one of the featured presenters.

Public Health Agency Roles

The Hawai’i Department of Health (D.O.H.) has been instrumental in our efforts to foster healthy eating behaviors in our schools. The Hawai'i Health Food Guide, developed by the D.O.H., is a significant improvement upon the USDA Food Guide Pyramid. This food guide presents many cultural foods and redefines the meat and dairy groups as the protein rich and calcium rich food groups respectively providing official affirmation of the value of a whole foods, plant-based diet as opposed to the status quo high-fat and high-protein Standard American Diet which is resulting in an epidemic of obesity and diet related disease. Kamakau LPCS translated this food guide to Hawaiian and used it as a reference for our definition of a healthy, traditional Hawaiian diet pattern to be promoted by our partner schools in the D.O.H. funded community intervention.

The D.O.H. encouraged community-based interventions which focused on nutrition education and fitness as well as tobacco cessation in the RFP which they issued for financial support resulting from the tobacco settlement monies. Additionally, the Hawai’i D.O.H. has provided evaluation services for our program through a relationship with the John A. Burns School of Public Health Sciences.

Major Partners

In addition to the Hawai‘i D.O.H., partners in this public health project included: Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Waiau Elementary School; Ke Kula Ni‘ihau o Kekaha Public Charter School; Ke Kula ‘o Nawahiokalani‘opu‘u Laboratory Public Charter School; Ka ‘Umeke Ka‘eo Hawaiian Immersion Public Charter School; Punana Leo ‘o Kamakau Hawaiian language preschool; the Hakipu‘u Learning Center Public Charter School; the ‘Ai Pono Program of Herbert Kealoha Hoe; Aloha ‘Aina Health Center (a local nonprofit farm and wellness education organization); the Health, Wellness, and Family Education Division of Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate; and the John A. Burns School of Public Health Sciences.

Official Support

Support for this effort came from Chiyome Fukino, M.D., the Director of the Hawai’i Department of Health; Patricia Hamamoto, Superintendant of the State Department of Education; and Cathy Pang, field evaluator and specialist for the Hawai’i Child Nutrition Office (USDA).

Results from the Environmental Change

The impact and outcomes of this food literacy education intervention have been tracked by the John Burns School of Public Health Sciences. Researchers there utilized an adapted form of the Hawai’i Youth Risk Behavior Survey to compare eating patterns with State and National comparison groups. Results have been encouraging.

In 2003-2004, 43% of the students in our program schools met professional recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption as compared with about 15% for Hawai’i and 21% nationally. Our program schools surpassed all ethnic groups in Hawai’i and all communities surveyed for the island of O’ahu (Source: State of Hawai’i BRFSS 2002).

Lessons Learned

The most important lesson learned is that food literacy education of the type we have promoted is an effective way to positively influence student eating behaviors, student acceptance of healthier foods when they are served in school food service programs, and to begin to reverse societal statistics in general–and native Hawaiian statistics in particular–for diet related disease and obesity.

Submitted By

Robert Kai Irwin, M.Ed.

Former Food Literacy Program Coordinator

Ke Kula ‘o Samuel M. Kamakau Laboratory Public Charter School

538 Kipuka Place

Kailua, HI 96734

(808) 263-4235

kekaianiani_i@leoki.uhh.hawaii.edu

Additional Information

See Power Point File: Samuel Kamakau Success Story

See PDF Healthy Hawaii Food Guide Hawaiian Version

Ke Kula ‘o Samuel M. Kamakau Laboratory Public Charter School ‘Aiaola/Healthy Eating Policy:

Kamakau LPCS supports and encourages healthy lifestyles for all of its families and partner schools through hands- and minds- on food literacy and fitness curricula, gardening and malama ‘aina (outdoor conservation) experiences, healthy school food service programs, and by providing and facilitating healthy meals at school functions. Because poor diet choices are responsible for so much of the disease afflicting families in modern times, all students, teachers, and families are encouraged to strive to be models of healthy eating for those around them at school and beyond. We support each other to eat according to the traditional Hawaiian diet pattern as clearly defined by the daily serving sizes and numbers for various age groups detailed on the reverse side of the Hawai’i Health Food Guide (Ki‘i Ho‘okele ‘Ai Pono) handout. Inquire at the school office for a copy. In general, this means eating abundant amounts of (preferably organic and locally grown) fresh fruits and vegetables, eating whole foods as opposed to those that have been highly processed, minimizing saturated fat and hydrogenated oils, and reducing overall fat, salt, and sugar in the diet. In particular this means:

• All students, staff, and families are expected to adhere to these guidelines, bringing healthy traditional and modern foods to meetings, school sponsored events, and learning trips.

• Sodas and candies are not allowed on campus.

• Other highly processed foods high in sugars and fats are strongly discouraged.

• If you wish to bring a birthday treat for the class, please choose healthier options such as: fruit salad with haupia, kulolo, banana bread or carrot cake baked with whole wheat pastry flour, strawberries, kiwi fruit, fresh cold watermelon, smoothies, etc...

Mahalo for helping to promote this important goal of return to a traditional Hawaiian diet pattern. E ola mau na pua! (May the health of our children flourish).