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Value-added products can generate farm income and improve community food access, yet lack of available kitchen infrastructure and labor can limit farm production capacity. This project explored how community-based culinary schools might fill the gap. A unique "product share" model was identified and piloted, meeting the collective needs of farmers, a culinary school, and urban consumers. By researching farmer crop availability and business model preferences, and aligning value-added production with community food preferences, we demonstrate a successful pilot indicative that similar initiatives can be replicated in other metropolitan areas, with potential to engage cross-disciplinary extension professionals.

Purpose: Recruiting college students for research studies can be challenging. The purpose of this paper is to describe the lessons learned in the various recruitment strategies used for enrolling college students in a theory-based, tailored, and web-delivered health intervention at 13 US universities. Design/methodology/approach: The community-based participatory research (CBPR) model was used to develop a staged-tailored, web-based, randomized control trial, focusing on eating behavior, physical activity, and stress management. Participant feedback during baseline assessments was used to evaluate recruitment strategies. Findings: Findings from this feedback suggest that traditional recruitment strategies, such as newspaper ads and flyers, may not be the best approach for recruiting college students; instead, web-based efforts proved to be a better recruitment strategy. Research limitations/implications: This project included results from 13 US universities and thus may not be generalizable: more research is needed to determine successful recruitment methods for 18-24 years old college students. Originality/value: This paper lessens the gap regarding successful recruitment strategies for 18-24 years old college students.

Objective: The study examines metabolic syndrome (MetS) among college students at 3 geographically distinct US campuses. Participants: Undergraduates ("N" = 360; 68% women), 18 to 24 years of age, were recruited at each public university in January and February 2011. MetS prevalence was evaluated in 83% ("n" = 299) participants. Methods: Anthropometric, biochemical, and clinical measures were collected in the fasted state. Results: Twelve percent of college men and 6% of college women met the clinical definition of MetS. Males were more likely to have [greater than or equal to] 2 individual MetS criteria than females (33% vs 16%; "p" less than 0.05). Prevalence and individual criteria of MetS differed between the 3 regions. Obese and overweight students met significantly more MetS criteria and had higher C-reactive protein levels than normal-weight students (both "p" less than 0.05). Conclusion: Findings suggest that MetS prevalence among college students differs by sex, weight status, and region. Further research is needed to identify effective, targeted interventions that are regionally appropriate for this population.

Purpose: Little is known about health-related advertising on university environments. Given the power of advertising and its potential effect on health behaviors, the purpose of this paper is to assess the health-related advertisement environment and policies on university campuses. Design/methodology/approach: In total, ten geographically and ethnically diverse US university campuses that were trained in using the health-related advertisement survey tool participated in the study. Inter-rater reliability with data collectors at each university was established before data commencement began in Spring 2011. The survey tool assessed the types, locations, and prevalence of health-related advertisements and messages (e.g. nutrition, alcohol, tobacco) on campus, and included both advertisements and messages related to any aspect of health by any sponsor. Current campus health-related policies from each institution were collected as well. Findings: The largest proportion of advertisements on all campuses were for diet/nutrition, exercise/fitness, and alcohol. The majority of advertisements promoted positive health behaviors recommended by health professionals. Unbranded advertisements were more likely to promote positive health behaviors than branded advertisements. Diet/nutrition, tobacco, and drug advertisements were more likely to be positive, whereas alcohol-related advertisements tended to be negative. Originality/value: The paper's findings indicate significant gaps in campus health-related policies with regard to healthy eating and physical activity and lack of policies covering health-related advertisement content. Benchmark data like those reported here can help campus stakeholders set priorities and work with campus decision makers to advocate for the development and implementation of healthy campus policies that support healthy environments. (Contains 4 tables.)

Purpose: Little is known about interrelationships among nutrition knowledge, attitude, dietary intake, and body satisfaction, which are important variables that play a role in nutrition education interventions. This paper aims to focus on these interrelationships. Design/methodology/approach: Students (n = 279; 20.12 plus or minus 1.75SD years) enrolled at a large northeastern US university took an online survey. The survey contained a nutrition knowledge scale, attitude scale, food frequency scales, body areas satisfaction subscale, and demographic characteristics questions. To determine relationships, correlation coefficients were computed, along with forward stepwise regression to identify predictors of each study measure. Research limitations/implications: Data were collected from a non-probability sample in one geographical area at one time point. Findings: In males, significant positive correlations were found between fruit/vegetable servings and attitudes, knowledge, body satisfaction; and between knowledge and attitudes. Stepwise multiple regression analysis found fruit/vegetable servings and percent calories from fat significantly predicted attitudes, while in females attitude was a significant predictor variable for knowledge, fruit/vegetable servings, and percent of calories from fat. Among females, significant positive correlations occurred between attitudes and knowledge, and fruit/vegetable servings and attitudes. Practical implications: Nutrition and health interventions should incorporate lessons that work to improve one's attitudes toward nutrition. Interventions targeted to males should aim to increase nutrition knowledge, while interventions targeted to females should focus on nutrition knowledge and attitudes. Originality/value: This paper expands on what is known about young adults and key cognitive factors that influence their nutrition knowledge, attitudes, dietary intake, and body satisfaction. Nutrition educators can utilize the study findings to inform future nutrition interventions. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

To create effective educational interventions that address the food safety informational needs of youth, a greater understanding of their knowledge and skills is needed. The purposes of this study were to explore, via focus groups, the food-handling responsibilities of middle school youth and obstacles they face in practicing safe food handling and develop recommendations for the design of food safety interventions for youth. Most youth reported that they prepared food at least once weekly and rated learning to prevent foodborne illness as important. Youth knew that food could make them sick, described foodborne illness as resulting from "something" getting into food, not cooking food "right," or the food going bad. Most responses lacked details, suggesting knowledge was basic. Nearly all were interested in learning about food safety. Barriers that deterred them from learning about food safety were time and feeling they were not susceptible to foodborne illness. To overcome barriers, youth suggested focusing on the seriousness of and risks for foodborne illness, using a serious but comical educational approach, and using hands-on educational media. Parents highly rated the importance of and degree to which they wanted youth to learn about food safety. Parents felt that their children had moderate levels of food safety knowledge, but many questioned whether they practiced food safety procedures when unsupervised. Parents felt that food safety education needed to be taught and reinforced in school and at home. After having reviewed youth and parent data, food safety experts proposed recommendations for youth-focused food safety education that paralleled current consumer food safety initiatives.

Students entering their first year of college are faced with many stresses and changes, including changes in eating and exercise behavior. A common but often undocumented myth among college students is that there is a high risk of gaining 15 pounds of weight during freshman year. The objective of this study was to measure changes in body weight and percentage of body fat among first-year college students. Using a digital scale with bioelectrical impedance, the authors measured height, weight, and percentage of body fat for a sample of students who volunteered to be weighed during a health assessment in the university dining halls. The authors sent e-mails inviting those same students to complete a second measurement in February of the academic year. Sixty-seven of the 217 students who volunteered for the health assessment agreed to undergo a second set of measurements in the spring. The mean change in body weight was 2.86 pounds (1.3 kg, SD = 4.0 kg), and the mean change in percentage of body fat was 0.7% (SD = 4.0%). For those students who gained weight only, the mean increase in body weight (as measured by body mass index, weight divided by height in kg/m[2]) was 6.82 pounds (3.1 plus or minus 2.4 kg) and percentage of body fat was 0.9 plus or minus 3.8%. The authors found that the first year of college is a period in which weight and fat gain may occur. The exact causes behind these changes are unclear and warrant further research to plan or improve intervention and prevention. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)