Growing Healthy Minds, Bodies, and Communities: Building Partnerships to Positively Impact Children’s Learning and Development

• In Event: Exploring Parent, Child, and Youth Outcomes From Home-School Engagement

Abstract

School and family partnerships can positively impact children’s developmental outcomes by bridging two of the most influential environments in which children learn and develop. Further, school-community partnerships can advance children’s overall cognitive, social-emotional, and physical well-being. Thus, this mixed-methods study examined the impacts of the Growing Healthy Minds, Bodies, and Communities (GHMBC) partnerships on children’s nutrition knowledge, food behavior, teachers’ perceptions of children’s learning within GHMBC, and families’ enjoyment with take home meal kits. Findings revealed that exposure and interactions with healthy foods through GHMBC lessons and family engagement activities supported by school-family-community partnerships can positively impact children’s nutrition knowledge, vocabulary, food behavior, and encourage cooking together at home. Ultimately, providing children with opportunities to develop to their fullest potential.

Authors

• Alicia Cooper Stapp, University of Mississippi

• Laurel Lambert, University of Mississippi

• Kenya E. Wolff, University of Mississippi

• georgianna mann, University of Mississippi

• Somya Gupta, University of Mississippi

• Isabella Liberto, University of Mississippi

• Kelsey Partlow, University of Mississippi