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Kelly's Kitchen: Utilizing Mulitmedia, Partnerships, and a Community Campaign to Disseminate Nutrition Education in Weld

State: CO Type: Model Practice Year: 2008

GOAL: To decrease from 62% the number of Weld County residents who are overweight or obese by developing and strategizing concentrated multimedia related to evidenced-based healthful nutrition over 100 days to encourage Weld County residents to make better decisions about the foods they eat. OBJECTIVES: 1. To partner with the City of Greeley to develop a series of six concise healthful cooking segments demonstrating "nutrition that tastes great" called "Kelly's Kitchen" for a 100-day broadcasting schedule on local GTV8 that will coincide with the "100 Day Resolution Challenge". 2. To promote the "100 Day Resolution Challenge", encouraging Weld County residents to reach a 50,000 healthy day goal by keeping their New Year's resolution for 100 days related to eating better, moving more, or adopting other behaviors related to a healthier lifestyle by capitalizing on the popularity of Kelly's Kitchen. 3. To reach at least 25% of Weld County residents with nutrition multimedia "edu-tainment" messages that include a Registered Dietitian who had gained popularity with healthy living classes at the local community college.
With over 60% of Weld County Colorado residents overweight according to BRFSS data, nutrition and physical activity awareness and education are high priorities in this community. Health promotion for such a large rural area requires resourcefulness, like grants. The five-year (2003-2008) chronic disease prevention federal grant, “Steps to a Healthier Weld County,” is administered through Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment (WCDPHE) focusing on obesity and diabetes. The grant targets worksites, schools, healthcare providers, and the community, encouraging the promotion of evidenced-based programming. Fundamental to the Steps vision of a healthier community and the related goals to decrease obesity is community education centered on nutrition and physical activity. Kelly’s Kitchen is an innovative collaboration among the WCDPHE, the City of Greeley, and a contracted RD that produced an educational tool for nutrition education in this community. During late fall 2007 (year four of the five-year non-competitive grant), the contracted RD who had developed and taught classes at the community college approached the Steps Project Coordinator (PC) with an idea to do a healthy cooking/nutrition TV show. With the success of the continuing education classes at the community college (as demonstrated by evaluations that documented changes in participant behavior toward making more individual healthful decisions), this RD suggested a cooking show for local TV that could build on the success of the classes. Her pitch included the current popularity of the cable Food Channel, an enthusiastic personal desire to develop a cooking show, as well as a joint commitment with Steps to reach more community residents with nutritional information to help them make more healthful decisions. The City of Greeley is the responsible organization for GTV8, a local government access channel reaching over 16,000 households in Greeley, Evans, and LaSalle through Comcast Cable. Therefore, the PC approached the PIO of the City of Greeley to discuss the possibilities of a three-way partnership for an innovative approach to nutrition education in this community. The timeline for broadcasting Kelly’s Kitchen on GTV8 was established in very early discussions to coincide with the launch of the 100 Day Resolution Challenge. This community-wide Web-based challenge encouraged people to commit to their New Year’s resolutions related to a healthier lifestyle for at least 100 days. Data are tracked and collected via the Web site. The six shows that were produced on DVD for broadcast on GTV8 were Sweet Potato Soup; Healthy Snacking; Healthy Breakfasts; Don't be Terrified of Tofu; Whole Grains; and Grocery Store Tour (on location). The topics were chosen after a brainstorming session and were intended to include basic nutrition education. All six are available on the Web site and DVD and are shared locally at the city and county levels.
Agency Community RolesThe five-year (2003-2008) chronic disease prevention federal grant, “Steps to a Healthier Weld County,” is administered through Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment (WCDPHE) by five assigned staff and focuses on obesity and diabetes. The grant targets worksites, schools, healthcare providers, and the community, encouraging the promotion of evidenced-based programming. The Steps grant has been successful in developing partnerships and collaborations that leveraged scarce resources in this rural county in Northern Colorado. Since the grant is in its final year (2008), all of the partnerships that have been developed enhanced this project. A wide variety of community partners participated in the 100 Day Resolution and Kelly's Kitchen project. A planning committee included the sponsors under the leadership of the Weld County Health Department. Sponsors were needed for the challenge for prizes, incentives, and discounts, including advertising and services. Some of the sponsors included the local hospital, the mall, a local radio station, the City of Greeley, a therapy center, and Weld County government. The City of Greeley is responsible for GTV8, a local government access channel reaching over 16,000 households in Greeley, Evans, and LaSalle through Comcast Cable. GTV8 has been instrumental in broadcasting local events including City Council meetings and other entertainment. Residents rely on GTV8 for reliable information. There has always been a close partnership between the city and the county governments that includes such other collaborations as community gardens, farmers market, worksite wellness, and the media. The Steps grant through the Weld County Health Department is instrumental in fostering relationships with community stakeholders. This includes but is not limited to worksite wellness programs in over 20 large worksites, coordinated school health and nutrition education in over 30 schools, over 10 media partners in Northern Colorado, as well as engaging healthcare providers in initiatives such as tobacco prevention, and the promotion of better nutrition and physical activity. There have been nine active community coalitions that plan and implement the grant's action plan. These collaborative relationships have demonstrated a common commitment to a healthier Weld County. Costs and ExpendituresTotal cost: $84,890 Includes: Charges $4340 + ($7900 challenge media) = $12,240 In-kind: $72,650 Specifics: City of Greeley: Videographer labor, supplies, duplication, etc. $2,040 City: In-kind Marketing/Publicity Coordinator (40 hours): $1,000 Public Information Officer (27 hours): $1,200 GTV8 and Web announcements: $14,500 58 hours of broadcasting ($12/minute): $42,000 Press conference--Funplex space, city council and mayor time:$450 Kitchen donated (in-kind: $600/day x 3 days of filming = $1,800) Grocery Store filming (in-kind $600/day = $600) Kelly (Dietician)--storyboard development, intellectual property, on camera star of Kelly's Kitchen: $2,000 Food: $300 Weld County Health Department (technical assistance and sous chef staff; webmaster) (in-kind $5,000) University interns (in-kind: free) 100 Day Resolution Challenge Media: Billboards and bus benches: $2,500 Spanish TV: $2,500 Print ads and other material: $2,000 Postage: $400 Posters: $500 Radio 120 minutes: (in-kind) $800 ImplementationDuring fall 2007 (year four of the five-year non-competitive Steps federal grant), the contracted dietitian (RD) who had developed several successful nutrition classes at the local community college approached the Steps Project Coordinator (PC) with an idea to do a healthy cooking/nutrition TV show. With the success of the continuing education classes at the community college (as demonstrated by evaluations that documented changes in participant behavior toward making more individual healthful decisions), this RD suggested a cooking show for local cable television that could build on the success of the classes. Her pitch included the current popularity of the cable "Food Channel", an enthusiastic personal desire to develop a cooking show, as well as a joint commitment with Steps to reach more community residents with nutritional information to help them make more healthful decisions. The City of Greeley coordinates GTV8, the government cable channel, and agreed to produce and broadcast a series of nutrition education shows. A tentative plan was developed over subsequent weekly meetings. One of the first hurdles was finding a kitchen that would serve as a pleasant setting for the show. Through networking, a picture-perfect kitchen was offered by a gracious couple who were very involved in the community. Each five-minute show required about three hours of on-site production and at least three hours of editing. One of the WCDPHE dietitians was recruited to be the on-site technical assistant and the sous chef. The shows were filmed and edited within a two-month window and on-budget. The timeline for broadcasting Kelly’s Kitchen on GTV8 was established in the very early discussions about the project to coincide with the launch of the 100 Day Resolution Challenge. This community-wide challenge encouraged people to commit to their New Year’s resolutions for at least 100 days and was to run from January 1 through April 9, 2008. The City of Greeley’s PIO developed the rotation schedule to broadcast the segments on GTV8 throughout the 100-day challenge but at least 35 times/week as an in-kind contribution. The Steps to a Healthier Weld County Web site (www.stepstoahealthierweld.com) was revised to include the Kelly’s Kitchen logo. The intent was to drive the viewers of the show to the Steps Web site through messages in the show credits. Once on the Web site, anyone could get the show's recipes and additional information about nutrition and physical activity. It was also strategic to cue people to join the Resolution Challenge. This was one of the ways evaluation data were tracked and collected. The six shows that were produced on DVD for broadcast on local GTV8 were Sweet Potato Soup; Healthy Snacking; Healthy Breakfasts; Don't be Terrified of Tofu; Whole Grains; and Grocery Store Tour (on location). The educational content was planned to be basic as a catapult for future programming.
The series of six Kelly's Kitchen classes were rotated on GTV8 35 times/week from January 1 through April 9, 2008. Estimated subscribers of Comcast Cable GTV8 were 16,000--so much exposure resulted. The recipes on the Steps Web site were accessed over 1,200 times to date (each TV segment broadcast that the recipes were available on www.stepstoahealthierweld.org). Requests for the video resulted in having Kelly's Kitchen on Youtube.com, easily available from the Steps Web site; the community college local channel; and the school district's local channel. All six shows are available on a DVD and are being shared locally at the city and county levels. The DVD is also shared with state partners in the Steps counties and the newly evolving LiveWell Colorado counties. More than 30% of Weld County residents were exposed to nutrition messages from the Kelly's Kitchen. From the participants in Kelly's classes at the community college, as demonstrated from the pre- to the post-tests: 100% of participants modified their diet; reading labels increased from 60% to 92%; 67% of the participants said they increased their activity level. This served as the basis for believing in the success of this project. Over 670 Weld County residents participated in the 100 Day Resolution Challenge, logging an average of 17.5 healthy days (out of 100 total) to date. Requests to have Kelly present nutrition information at community functions increased 100% and included requests from: 1) Journeys conference for high school girls February 2008 2) District 6 schools--staff and student wellness 3) worksite wellness programs
The sustainability of nutrition education and a healthier community in Weld County has been established through the Steps grant and all of the partnerships it has built over the past five years. The Weld County Health Department has committed to continuation of nutrition education, including Kelly's Kitchen. Examples of this commitment include the following: (1) Another series of Kelly's Kitchen in a PSA format is scheduled to be taped and broadcast in the next six months--planning is currently in process; (2) the addition of an FTE once the Steps grant ends in September to continue Steps initiatives; (3) in Colorado, the Steps initiatives have spawned LiveWell Colorado--a non-profit organization currently in planning and development that will address obesity in Colorado and be a source of future funding for these types of initiatives; (4) the enhanced relationships that have been developed with media in Northern Colorado have streamlined the health messaging that occurs in this area. Media confidence in the leadership of Weld County Health Department continues to be portrayed in the quality of the stories that are available to the public both in print, audio, and video broadcasting; (5) partnerships and collaborations with businesses (including education sources like the college and schools) and other health providers promotes a generosity of in-kind contributions and other resources, including the media; (6) plans currently in process to advocate for a Healthy Weld 2020 Commission that would help advocate for policy that would enhance further changes in this community related to health and general quality of life.