Evaluating the Implementation and Impact of an Enhanced SNAP-Ed Delivered Curriculum in Low-income Preschools

NCT07366437 | Enrolling By Invitation

• 1 other identifier: IRB STUDY00027835
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 100
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This evaluation project aims to assess the impact of the Penn State Child Health Research Center's final year of SNAP-Ed funded nutrition education program in low-income preschool classrooms in Pennsylvania. This project uses a combination of nutrition education, repeated exposure to a variety of vegetables, and associative conditioning (using dips to make vegetables more appealing) to improve children's knowledge, acceptance, and intake of vegetables.

Conditions

Vegetable Acceptance in Early Childhood; Vegetable Intake; Knowledge

Keywords

SNAP-Ed; Early Childhood

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Vegetable Knowledge (questions developed for study)

  Children will be asked if they know the name of each vegetables served before intervention and after intervention.

  From enrollment to the end of intervention (approximately 5 months)

• Vegetable Acceptance (Tasting Assessment)

  Acceptance of vegetables served will be measured during a tasting assessment. Research personnel will record if child refuses or tastes each food provided and then will have child rank preference of each food tasted.

  From enrollment to the end of intervention (approximately 5 months)

• Vegetable Intake Assessment

  Children will be served 60g of a vegetable that has been pre-weighed. We will post-weigh to calculate exact intake.

  From enrollment to the end of intervention (approximately 5 months)

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Feasibility of delivering this educational program

  From enrollment to the end of intervention (approximately 5 months)

• Implementation data

  From enrollment to the end of intervention (approximately 5 months)

Study Arms (1)

Rainbow Veggie Club

EXPERIMENTAL

The Rainbow Veggie Club arm is the name of the educational program provided by Penn State's Child Health Research Center.

Behavioral: Rainbow Veggie Club

Interventions

Rainbow Veggie Club BEHAVIORAL

The CATCH EC curriculum is an evidence-based program designed to promote healthy eating, physical activity, and overall wellness in early childhood and school settings. A subset of lessons from this curriculum that focus on vegetables are implemented as part of the Rainbow Veggie Club, and additional enhancements were added to the standard CATCH lessons to specifically target vegetable exposure and acceptance. These enhancements include repeated exposure of vegetables, associative conditioning by serving vegetables alongside a familiar dip, behavioral reinforcement with non-food rewards, and integration of evaluation activities.

Rainbow Veggie Club

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 3 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Child enrolled in a participating low-income preschool classroom
• Teacher employed in a participating low-income preschool classroom

You may not qualify if:

• Food allergies that would restrict the participation in the data collection procedures

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Penn State University: lead

Study Sites (1)

The Learning Express

Altoona, Pennsylvania, 16601, United States

Location

Related Links

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Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Director, Child Health Research Center

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 9, 2026
• First Posted: January 26, 2026
• Study Start: December 8, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Last Updated: January 26, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)