James F. Evans Collection, Ham, Mimeographed, 1994. 1 p. Presented at the Society for Nutrition Education, Portland, OR, July 16-20, 1994., Many food stamp recipients either run out of foods stamps before the end of the month or are unable to follow the Food Guide Pyramid to make healthy food choices. Food and nutrition education opportunities for food stamp recipients are often limited to written literature available at food stamp offices. The purpose of this report is to compare the effectiveness of three methods of nutrition education service delivery to food stamp recipients : 1) a series of nine cards sent along with monthly "authorization to purchase" cards, 2) a video and interactive handout shown to all food stamp participants when they are recertified for food stamps, and 3) a series of eight group lessons. Our hypothesis is that participants receiving either the more intensive group lessons or a combination of delivery methods will demonstrate greater improvements in knowledge gains and behavior changes. The goal of each intervention is to help participants eat better for less. Subjects in each intervention, as well as those in a non-intervention control group, were given a pre-test and a post-test. Subjects receiving the cards and the video, as well as the control group, were chosen using stratified random sampling methods. Subjects enrolled in the eight group lessons are self-selected EFNEP clients. We will report gains in knowledge of low-fat alternatives and healthy food choices, changes in eating behaviors and food resources management practices of subjects in all three delivery groups and the non-intervention group. Results of this project can assist nutrition educators nationwide in planning effective food and nutrition education programs for food stamp recipients.
