Off to a Healthy Early Head Start: NEAT
Nutrition Education for Rural Low-Income Parents/Caregivers of Children, 12-36 Months of Age

Year Awarded: 2001
Project Leaders:
Mildred A. Omar, MSU Nursing; Sharon Hoerr, MSU Food Science and Human Nutrition; Gayle Coleman, MSU Extension/Food Science and Human Nutrition Community Partners; Mid-Michigan Community Action Agency (MMCAA); Early Head Start; Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program

Project Description:
This project is improving children's health by identifying informational needs and barriers to establishing healthy eating habits in young children as perceived by rural, low-income parents/caregivers. Attitudes, knowledge, practices, and interest changes in nutrition are compared between a group of Early Head Start parents/caregivers and children receiving a nutrition education program and a group receiving no intervention. (from ICYF annual report).

Poor nutrition in young children jeopardizes school readiness, and poor feeding practices can lead to unhealthy development and obesity. NEAT works with parents of toddlers to improve feeding practices, ensure good nutrition, and increase their confidence to offer new healthy foods. MSU faculty and Extension staff partner with Early Head Start have developed a nutrition education curriculum for rural low income families. (FACT)

Recent Developments:

With the help of a FACT grant, MSU’s College of Nursing, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and MSU Extension Family and Consumer Sciences teamed up with community partners, Mid Michigan Community Action Agency (MMCAA), WIC and Early Head Start to help families of very young children in low income, rural areas improve their nutrition and health. “Research has shown that good eating habits, established early in childhood, can lead to a lifetime of nutrition,” said Mildred Omar, project leader and professor in MSU’s College of Nursing.

Teaching parents about healthy choices and behaviors for feeding finicky tots remains the mission of the NEAT project as is it begins a new phase of community intervention this year. “Research has shown that good eating habits, established early in childhood, can lead to a lifetime of nutrition and a much smaller chance of a child developing an eating disorder,” said Mildred Omar.

Significance: To the best of our knowledge, this project is a first-time collaboration between MSU Extension, EFNEP, Early Head Start, a land grant university, researchers in nutrition and nursing, as well as community level professionals in EHS, EFNEP, and WIC.

The NEAT pilot intervention program was conducted in four rural Michigan counties, Clare, Gladwin, Mecosta and Midland. With this base, they applied for and received a $375,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children, Youth and Families. Due to the additional funding, reinforcing activities created during the original grant can now be developed for distribution and use in Early Head Start programs. An expanded NEAT project will not only reach more people and require additional resources, but it will also increase the number of collaborators involved. The model they created, along with the new federal grant will allow them to continue the vision of teaching parents about healthy choices and behaviors for feeding finicky tots in 24 additional counties.

Resources and Links:

Journal of Community Health Nursing, Healthy eating for rural low-income toddlers: Caregivers’ perceptions, 2001.

Project web site: http://nursing.msu.edu/neat/