(P01-001-23) The Impact of Objective Measures for Community Nutrition Program Evaluation

Objectives: Billions of dollars are invested annually into the delivery of community-based nutrition programs, yet evaluation of those programs is challenging given the setting. Without rigorous evaluation, it is difficult for community and organization leaders to make informed decisions about program priorities. A common nutrition program emphasis is fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake. Through a Collective Impact Model-informed initiative in our region, our team serves as evaluation partners using objective assessment of F&V intake as a Shared Measure. Here we report on the collective impact of multiple nutrition programs on F&V intake.

Methods: Tailored evaluation plans were destined for each program to meet the needs of each organization. Each evaluation plan used reflectance spectroscopy as an objective assessment of changes in carotenoids, a biomarker of total F&V intake.

Results: Ten programs that included a goal of increasing F&V intake in children or adults were implemented. Programs varied in design and were delivered in schools (classroom-based, school garden-focused, and cafeteria-based), after-school programs, a food pantry, community-based cooking programs, and a home delivery program. Only 1 of 10 program evaluations found a statistically significant increase in F&V intake (.005 OD, 5.5% increase, P< 0.05). The effective program was delivered in a middle school cafeteria and was designed using principles from behavioral economics. Self-reported measures of F&V intake often showed a positive impact on F&V intake despite no change in reflectance spectroscopy scores.

Conclusions: Community organizations are in a powerful position to deliver programming that can drive change in dietary intake. However, these organizations often do not have the technical expertise or capacity to implement robust objective outcome evaluation tools. Without such data, organizations miss opportunities to modify programs for improved impact and investments are made in ineffective programs. Partnerships between scientists with assessment expertise and community organizations can enhance evaluation efforts and lead to increased impact.

Funding Sources: Funding sources included the Paso del Norte Health Foundation and USDA.