Lunch is in the Bag: Helping Parents Increase Fruit, Vegetables, and Whole Grains in Preschool Sack Lunches

Lunch is in the Bag is an intervention designed to increase fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in sack lunches prepared for preschool children. Lunch is in the Bag includes 5 weeks of parent handouts, classroom activities related to topics in the handouts, parent and child activities to reinforce behavioral constructs, and a one week booster 22 weeks later. The primary study hypothesis is that Lunch is in the Bag will increase fruit, vegetables, and whole grains in sack lunches. Additional hypotheses are that lunches at child care centers where the program is used will have higher dietary quality than centers without the program and that children at the centers where the program is used will have a smaller increase in body mass index than children at centers with the program. The study will also look at the child's home environment and the childcare center. Hypotheses for this research question include 1. Children at centers with Lunch is in the Bag will have greater frequency of eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains at home than those at centers without the program. 2. Compared to parents at centers without the program, parents of children at centers with Lunch is in the Bag will have 1. Greater knowledge, expected benefits, support, intentions, and belief in their ability for packing fruit, vegetables, and whole grain in their child's sack lunch daily. 2. Availability of fruit, vegetable, and whole grain in the home pantry. 3. Number of lunches with temperature in the safe range at time of service.