DEPARTMENT OF NUTRITION, FOOD STUDIES, AND PUBLIC HEALTH

Course Number.NUTR-UE.1209 – Community Nutrition– Fall 2013Class Meets on Thursdays

Undergrad Section 001: 11-1:40 Bobst #LL151Graduate Section 002: 4:55-7:35 25 W.4th St #C-8

Instructor Information:Name Rebecca A Sparks, MS, RDEmail: Rebecca.sparks@nyu.eduOffice hours: by appointmentPhone: 646-229-1811Mailbox: Located in Department Office

Prerequisites and Co-requisites: Course Description:

Prerequisites: NUTR-UE 119 Nutrition and Health, NUTR-UE 120 Theories and Techniques of Nutrition EducationCo-requisites: NUTR-UE 1269 Nutrition and the Lifecycle, NUTR-UE 1260 Diet Assessment and Planning

Course Credits: 3 Credit Hours: 45Nutritional issues in communities include both food security and obesity. This course looks at these issues in communities ranging from the family unit to the world and examines the complex causes of poor nutrition involving economic, social, cultural, and policy issues. Students will gain understanding of the rationale for development of community nutrition programs & their design, implementation, & evaluation. Class format includes lectures with student interaction as well as individual & group projects.

Statement of Instructional Methods Lecture, discussion, assignments, midterm

Assignments & Readings: All assigned reading is to be done prior to class meetings in order to be prepared for class

discussions. All assignments must be handed in on time. On time means by class time on the date indicated.

Any assignment turned in after that time will be graded late and points will automatically be deducted. A 10% penalty will be given per day late.

All assignments will be handed in on NYU Classes and should include your name and page numbers

All papers should be handed in as MS-WORD Documents (.doc/.docx) . Each assignment should be handed in as one document only. Any paper handed in using PDF will be penalized 1 point.

All assignments must be typed, using correct spelling and grammar. Students who have difficulty writing should make an appointment at the NYU Writing Center, 269 Mercer Street, 2nd Floor, Tel: 212-998-9966.

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Assignments and project proposal grades will be based on clarity, completeness, accuracy, organization and presentation. Keep a copy of all assignments and submit the original to the instructor(s). Keep all copies until a grade has been received for the course.

Academic Integrity Please be aware that plagiarism or cheating of any kind will be cause for “no credit” on the

assignment, and possible failure in the course. See NYU policy at (http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/policies/academic_integrity)

Statement on Disability Services (standard description) Any student attending NYU who needs an accommodation due to a chronic, psychological, visual,

mobility and/or learning disability, or is deaf or hard of hearing should register with the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212 998-4980, 240 Greene Street, www.nyu.edu/csd.

Course Objectives : On completion of this course, the student is expected to be able to:

1) Demonstrate oral and written communication skills through knowledge of current information technologies (KR 2.1.a)

2) Apply knowledge of interpersonal communication skills3) Apply knowledge of education and behavior change theory and techniques (KR.3.3)4) Demonstrate the ability to develop and present an education session for a target group (KR

3.3.a5) Demonstrate knowledge of pubic policy development and the impact of public policy position

regarding dietetics (KR 4.3.a)6) Demonstrate the ability to work effectively as a team member7) Apply knowledge of socio-cultural and ethnic food consumption issues and trends for diverse

groups 8) Apply knowledge of the influence of socioeconomic, cultural and psychological factors to

develop interventions to affect change and enhance wellness to diverse individuals and groups (KR 3.2.a)

9) Assess knowledge of availability of nutrition programs in the community10) Describe food availability and access for the individual, family and community11) Demonstrate knowledge of formulation of local, state and national food security policy12) Apply knowledge of food and nutrition laws/regulation/policies13) Demonstrate understanding of the nutrition care process in the provision of nutrition interventions related to health promotion and disease prevention (KR 3.1.a)14) Identify and describe the roles of other professionals who assist the Registered Dietitians in the provision of food and nutrition services (KR 2.3.b)15) Apply knowledge of advocacy and negotiation skills (KR 2.1.b)16) Describe the basic elements of program planning, monitoring and evaluation

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Assigned Texts, Required Course Materials Poppendieck, J. Free For All; Fixing School Food in America Harper Collins 2011 Winne, Mark. Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty. Boston: Beacon

Press 2008 Schwartz-Nobel, Loretta Growing up Empty: How Federal Policies Are Starving America’s

Children. New York: Harper Collins 2003 All required texts are on reserve at Bobst Library

Suggested Reading: DeParle, Jason. American Dream. Penguin 2004 Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. New York,

Boston: Little Brown & Co. 2000 Nutrition Education: Linking Research, Theory and Practice 2e. Contention, IR. Jones and

Bartlett 2011

Assessment and GradingGrading and Due Dates for Assignments:Assignments are due by class meeting time unless specified differently

Assignment Due GradingSNAP Paper September 26 10Purpose Statement October 10Advocacy Letter October 10 10MIDTERM October 17 20Needs Assessment and Goals November 7 Group meeting/Research review/ Objectives due November 14 Food Systems and Public Health and Media Literacy See schedule 4Volunteer Paper November 14 10Abstract November 21Presentations December 5 10Final Project Paper December 12 by 5 PM 25Current Events postings Complete by December 5 5Attendance and Participation 6

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#1 September 5 Introduction –On NYU Streaming Course Introduction Sign up for current event posting Introduction to SNAP Assignment This lecture is presented online through NYUStreamingReading Due:

1) Start to read Growing up Empty and Closing the Food Gap. Must be finished by the midtermStart reading Poppendieck- Free For All

2) Review Dietary Guidelines: http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/ and 3) My Plate: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/

#2 September 12 : Epidemiology and Community Food Assessment How do we assess nutritional problems? What is a community food assessment and how is it a beneficial tool? Review research methods• Introduce volunteer projects and final projects Assign Media Literacy readingsQuiz on Introduction-this will be a short multiple short quizReading Due: 1) Review Healthy People 2020. http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/default.aspx2) Hamm MW. Bellows AC. Community food security: background and future directions. [Journal

Article. Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't] Journal of Nutrition Education & Behavior. 35(1): 37-43, 2003 Jan-Feb.

3) Black J.L. Macinko, J. (2008). Neighborhood Determinants of Obesity. Nutr Rev. 66(1): 1-19

#3 September 19: Food and Nutrition Policy and Advocacy From Assessment to Policy to Programs How does policy develop? What is your role as an advocate? Introduction to Group project

o Groups finalizedo What is a purpose statement

Guest Speaker: Section 1: Louise Feld,Citizen Committee for Children of NY. Senior Policy AssociateSection 2: Hannah Lupien- Westside Campaign Against Hunger- Food StrategistReadings Due:1) Go the USDA website and review food and nutrition programs 2) Poppendieck- pp 1-160- Introduction through Chapter 5- 3) Sign on to Facebook- “Understanding the Farm Bill: A Citizen's Guide to a Better Food System”

and Occupy the Farm Bill4) Follow Marion Nestle’s Blog- Food Politics

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#4 September 26: Food Insecurity: from Assessment to Policy to Programs What is food security? How do we address food insecurity in the United States? Start to form groups for final projectGuest Speakers: Section 1: TBDSection 2: Daniel Reyes, program Director of programs and operations at Yorkville Common Pantryhttp://www.nycommonpantry.org Reading due:1) Review http://frac.org and sign up for their e-news for the rest of the semester.2) Poppendieck: Chapter 63) NYC Hunger Experience. 2010 find at http://www.foodbanknyc.org/4) Review website www.letsmove.gov SNAP Paper Due

#5 October 3: Childhood Obesity from Assessment to Policy to Programs Issues with the Child Obesity Epidemic How does the media affect food choices- especially children’s Discussion of School Food and Free for AllGuest Speakers:Section 1: Elizabeth Solomon- NYCDOHMH Section 2:Sandra Arevalo, Montefiore Center for Children and Families

Reading due:1) Poppendieck: pp.190-221 (Chapter 7)2) Be prepared to discuss Free for All by Jan Poppendieck

#6 October 10: Media Literacy and Perspectives on International Community Nutrition Contemporary issues in international community nutritionGuest Speaker

2: Lorena Drago www.hispanicfoodways.com

Reading Due:http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=4&tax_level=1 1) Review http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2) Yin HS. et al. The health literacy of parents in the United States: a nationally representative study.

Pediatrics. 124 Suppl 3:S289-98, 2009 Nov3) Chernin, A, The Effects of Food Marketing on Children’s Preferences: Testing the Moderating Role

of Age & Gender. Annals, AAPS; 615, Jan 2008 http://ann.sagepub.com/content/vol615/issue1/?etoc

4) Linn, S and Novostat, CL, Calories for Sale: Food Marketing to children in the Twenty-First Century. Annals, AAPSS, 615, Jan 2008 http://ann.sagepub.com/content/vol615/issue1/?etoc

5) Assigned Readings for Media Literacy

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Purpose Statement Due and Advocacy Letter Due

#7 October 17 : Midterm and Book Club Midterm Discuss Growing up Empty and Closing the Food Gap

#8 October 24: Program Planning Program Planning Logic Model Needs Assessment Literature Review

Reading Due:1) Review community tool box for different components of final project

http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/ 2) Austin S Bryn et al. Swimming Upstream: Faculty and Staff Members From Urban Middle Schools

in Low-Income Communities Describe Their Experience Implementing Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiatives. Prev Chronic Dis. 2006 April; 3(2): A37

#9 October 31: Educational Theory and Goals and Objectives What are educational theories and how do they pertain to behavior change How to write goals and objectives Goals and Objectives exercise

Readings Due:1) Sahay, T.B., et al., Effective components for nutrition interventions: a review and application of the

literature. Health Promotion Practice, 2006. 7(4): p. 418-27.2) Ajzen, I. The Theory of Planned Behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 1991:

50. Pp179-211. Find on google search

#10 November 7: Food Systems and Public Health Abstracts Questions about project Class Discussion of Food Systems and Public Health

Needs Assessment, Literature Review and Goals Due Reading Due1) Food Works, a Vision to Improve NYC’s Food System2) Readings will be divided up for class discussion3) Budgets 4) Reviewing other grant proposals5) Time to work on projects

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#11 : November 14 Group Meetings Review your research and project progress during group meeting.Objectives Due (Bring to meeting with you)Volunteer Paper Due

#12 November 21 Careers in Nutrition and FilmsFilm(s) TBDAbstract DueDietitian statistics and compensationReading Due

Ward, Brian. Compensation & Benefits Survey 2009: JADA January 2010 110:1 pp25-36

#13 December 5: Final Project Presentations Time to work on projects

December 12: Final Projects due by 5 PM

NO EXAM

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Assignments

1) Current Events Postingsa. You are responsible for finding at least one current event article on Hunger, Food or

Nutrition –Assessment, Policy or Programs, b. Provide a summary of the main points of the article and a link or reference to the articlec. Ask 1-2 open-ended questions to start a discussion with the classd. You are also responsible for commenting four (4) times on your classmates’ current event

postings. Check each week to see what discussions are happening.e. See the schedule for the timing of your postings (You can post any day in the range of

dates). Be prepared to discuss the dialogue in class in the week following your posting.

2) SNAP Reflection EssayYou will spend one week as a person participating in the Federal Food Stamp Program. Participation will be under the assumption that you have no “countable” income and live alone. Thus, you will be getting the maximum amount allotted per month for a single person: $46.50 ($200 per month) This allotment is based on the Thrifty Food Plan.

1. Fill out the New York State SNAP application. If there are confidential answers, please fill in with N/A. You do not need to hand this in. http://otda.ny.gov/programs/food-stamps/

2. You are to choose seven (7) consecutive days during which time you will feed yourself on no more than the amount you would receive from food stamps. You are welcome to use emergency food programs such as local soup kitchens or food pantries. If you do so and you can afford it, I recommend that you give a donation to the emergency food program you use.

3. Keep a daily diary of your food and beverage intake, documenting specific quantities of everything consumed along with a shopping list of purchases and costs for the week. Please submit this diary in table form and the reflection paper described below. Please include them in one document. Analyze your diet by dietary guidelines and nutrient intake on mypyramid.gov.

4. Pick one day and indicated where you bought each item of food and where it was produced. Labels will indicate country of origin, and sometimes state of origin. If you buy from an outdoor market, indicate where it is located and ask the purveyor if they know what state/country the food came from.

Write a reflection paper assessing your week on Food Stamps by answering the questions below. This paper should be 3-5 pages, double-spaced.A reflection paper should be as organized as any other type of formal essay. Include an introduction, perhaps one that describes your expectations before the experience. You also may want to summarize the conclusions you came to during the process. The body of your paper should explain the conclusions you have come to and why, basing your conclusions in concrete details from your reading and experience. End the paper with a conclusion that sums up what you got from the reading. You might want to refer to your conclusions in relation to your expectations or come to some other conclusion or analysis about the text or experience in light of your feelings and reactions.

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1. What is your impression of the SNAP Application2. How did you set out to accomplish eating with this budget?3. How easy or difficult was it to stick to the budget? Why?4. Did you meet your dietary needs this week? Please comment specifically on whether you felt

your intake of calories, macronutrients and micronutrients were too low or in excess and if they met the USDA recommendations.

5. What would you need to do differently if you were to be on the budget for a longer period of time?

6. Does this assignment affect how you might approach counseling a client who participates in the Food Stamp Program? In what ways?

7. What is your overall impression of SNAP ?

3) Letter of Advocacy

Write a 1 page letter to an appropriate legislator (e.g. City Council Member, State Representative, Senator, etc.) expressing your support or opposition to a proposed policy, bill, amendment or program (Not a resolution) that is related to food, nutrition or hunger.

Your letter should address a current piece of legislation, one proposed in the current legislative year within the last two months. It can be related to something we discussed in class or legislation that you find on your own. See www.thomas.gov for federal legislature. Use a search word such as nutrition to find nutrition-related bills. Please remember to address the appropriate person. i.e. if it is a city bill, contact a city councilor, for a state bill a state legislator or a federal bill a U.S. senator or congressman.Create your own letter. Do not use a form letter found on list-serves or websites. However, you may consult previous advocacy letters to help guide your efforts. An example is attached below.

Make sure to include the following points: Letterhead (If you are sending an email without a letterhead include your mailing address in

your signature) Who you are and how you relate to the issue That you are a constituent of the person to whom you are writing Why you are writing State the problem and make sure to include compelling statistics State the benefits and/or consequences of the decision End with a strong conclusion Include your title and any relevant credentials

See NYU classes under assignments for more details

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4) Food Systems and Public Health- Organized by Groups developed for Final Project. Read assigned readings to come to an understanding about how the food system affects public health

5) Media Literacy 1. During class time (several weeks before this is due,)you will choose one of the websites or articles listed. Be prepared to discuss: What is media literacy and why is it an important aspect of nutrition education? If you were going to put together a media literacy nutrition curriculum, what would be the important issues to include? If there is curriculum on the website that you pick, assess it strengths and weaknesses.

2. Find one ad in print material or YouTube that illustrates the importance of media literacy education. Post this on appropriate page on Discussion board. Review entries from your classmates.

6) Volunteer Experience EssayYou are required to volunteer at a community nutrition site for a minimum of 4 hours. You can sign up for one of the sites listed or propose another site. If you want to pick another site, it must be approved by instructor. Write a 2-3 page essay, double-spaced, font 12 describing your experience.Include

1. Name of Program 2. Address of Program3. Name of Contact Person 4. What are the demographics of the target audience?5. How is the program funded?6. What did you do?7. What nutrition-related activities did you observe?8. How did your experience enhance, challenge or reinforce the reading, theories or concepts from

class?9. Did this experience affect your attitudes or biases and assumptions or expectations of

others?10. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the program?11. After completing your experience what was your over-all impression

See NYU classes under assignments for various opportunities

7) Final ProjectThe Foundation for Community Nutrition Programs (FCNP) has been given $50,000, from an anonymous donor, to promote the Healthy People 2020 Nutrition goal to “Promote health and reduce chronic disease associated with diet and weight” In order for your organization to be considered for the grant money, you must complete all of the sections listed below.. The maximum amount of money being offered is $50,000. You can ask for the total amount or less depending on the

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needs of your program. The grant money is being offered to private, public, for profit and non- profit organizations.

Goal of proposal: Develop a written proposal to address the Healthy People 2020 Nutrition Goal to promote health and reduce chronic disease associated with diet and weight . Grants will be awarded to organizations and agencies working with communities that demonstrate the greatest need and likelihood of sustainable impact on nutrition and activity levels through innovative programs

See Final Project under NYU Classes/Assignments for more details

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