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Dr. Yum's Food Adventure: Helping Kentucky Kids Love New Foods · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Welcome to Talking FACS, where we share research-based information to help
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  you improve your health.
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  Today, we have a special episode where we're going to hear about a research-based
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  program that is available in some counties across the state.
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  Today, I'm your host, Anna Cason, Extension Associate for Food and Nutrition, and I'm joined by Dr.
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  Courtney Luecking, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist for Food and Nutrition,
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  and a special guest, Ashley Board, our Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Caldwell County.
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  To get us started, we'll hear from Dr. Luecking to hear all about this program
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  and then we'll get to hear from Ashley and how she's implemented it in her
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  county. So first, Courtney, what is Dr. Yum and why was it brought to Kentucky
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  Cooperative Extension?
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  Well, before we talk about what Dr. Yum is, let's talk about why we brought it to Extension.
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  Our agents across the state do amazing work with young children.
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  So when I say young children, I could be talking about preschool age or kind
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  of the kindergarten, those early years of elementary.
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  And they wanted and needed a program for nutrition education,
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  something that was beautiful and easy to use, and that could be used in a variety of settings.
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  And there are lots of programs available to support nutrition during early childhood.
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  And so I thought, you know, I'm not going to take the time or effort to develop
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  something that might take years and years.
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  Let's look at these programs that are available. Okay.
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  And so that's how I landed on Dr. Yum, and it's called Dr. Yum's Food Adventure.
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  It is a multi-sensory program that allows children to
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  not just focus on the eating of food, but really on touching and seeing and
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  smelling or listening, engaging all their senses to become more familiar with food.
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  It has positive language, really, that focuses on encouragement and being part of a team.
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  And where the nerd in me got really excited is that the program was developed
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  by a team of experts led by Dr. Yum herself, who is a pediatrician.
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  Also had input from a speech-language pathologist that has more of a focus on,
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  the muscle and the swallowing, that's chewing, all of the skills and qualities
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  that are needed to actually eat the food.
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  They had input from a registered dietitian who has that expertise in food and
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  nutrition to meet the needs of growing children.
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  And they had input from early childhood educators, so the people who are out,
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  doing the work and interacting with children in these early education settings.
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  And so really, it's a beautiful packaged program that we wanted to see if it
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  would work when implemented by our agents in Kentucky.
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  Awesome. That sounds fabulous. And so to do this, we did a pilot project where
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  we had a handful of these agents offer it in a variety of different ways.
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  So do you want to talk to us a little bit about that pilot that we did and kind
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  of what we saw, how maybe it differed a little bit from how it was designed
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  and some of those successes that we saw along with that?
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  Sure. So another reason that we selected Dr.
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  Yum to try in Kentucky is that there is evidence that it can help improve children's enjoyment of food.
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  It can make them more likely to try or eat those foods.
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  And so we wanted to see if we could get the same results in Kentucky when,
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  instead of delivered by preschool teachers, our extension agents hosting in
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  their offices or going into schools,
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  or bringing together groups of people in other community settings.
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  So we had 10 agents across the state, and they all typically work with programs
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  in the early childhood period.
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  Some of them work with Head Start. Some of them have laugh and learn groups
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  in their offices. Some have Clover Buds. And some go into other preschools or
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  homeschool settings that are working with children anywhere between the ages of three and seven.
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  And our agents tried each of these lessons. Each lesson features a different
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  food and an opportunity to taste that food through a recipe in addition to exploring
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  with all the other senses.
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  And I will say that we had a great number of children who were willing to try
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  that food, to actually taste it.
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  Some of them ate all of it, and then some of them, you know,
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  maybe just had a taste and decided it wasn't for them that day, or at least not yet.
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  So what did we find when we tried this program? We served more than 1,100 children.
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  They got access to the lessons over the course of the school year.
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  And about 70% of those children tried the food and ate all of it,
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  which is really exciting.
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  And then we had about 10% that they didn't try it. So they were like,
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  oh, maybe I'm a little nervous, not yet comfortable with this.
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  But what was really exciting is that most of those children who didn't eat it
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  still engaged with the food in some other way.
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  And we know that in order for children to learn to like a new food,
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  sometimes they have to be exposed to it 10 to 12 times, even more for some kiddos.
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  And so this program seems to really support children and feeling comfortable
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  in trying these nutritious foods in ways that are also delicious and will support
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  their health over the long term. Awesome. That sounds so great.
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  Just to clarify and kind of reiterate, we want people to try new foods because
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  there are a variety of reasons that we need a lot of different foods in our diet.
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  But like you mentioned, it's like a skill, just like reading or any other skill that we have.
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  So we kind of have to practice it over time and offering it in a variety of different ways.
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  And especially in like an enjoyable, comfortable environment are some of the
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  key aspects that play into the comfortability or the willingness to try these foods.
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  So taking that as a win that we had so many of these children either engaging
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  with it in different ways or tasting it or eating a lot of it all together.
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  Yes. And one thing that I will add that I really loved and was a surprise,
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  but maybe also not a surprise at the same time, was the variety of children
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  that our agents reached through this program.
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  And what is most special is that it's a lot of children who maybe don't otherwise
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  have easy access to try these types of foods.
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  So, for example, we had a good number of our agents serving families who come
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  from limited resource backgrounds.
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  So where fruits and vegetables might be more expensive to try to purchase or
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  fear of wasting. And so, or we also served a good number of children who had
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  recognized disabilities.
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  And so where their developmental trajectory might be different and timing might
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  be different or comfortability with the sensory experience of these new foods,
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  who maybe initially weren't,
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  even going to touch the food and the sight of it was upsetting by the end,
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  were putting a fruit popsicle to their mouth and really enjoying it.
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  And so to me, that gave me goosebumps to talk about, but that the variety of
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  children that had access to the program and the experience that they had with
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  it is also really meaningful.
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  Yeah, thank you for highlighting that. And not to mention some of our agents,
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  the feedback we got from them was that they even tried new foods that they maybe
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  hadn't thought about before or hadn't had the opportunity to try.
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  So really just a fun new experience for everyone involved.
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  All right. So now for the, not that this all hasn't been fun,
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  but for the fun part to hear from Ashley and how she actually did this in her county.
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  So to get us started, Ashley, I know I briefly introduced you,
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  but tell us a little bit more about who you are, how long you've been with Extension,
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  and why maybe you were initially interested in Dr. Yum.
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  Well, I'm Ashley Board. I am the Family and Consumer Sciences agent in Caldwell
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  County, and I have been here for 13 years.
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  And one of my favorite things is to work with the preschoolers and I love introducing,
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  fruits and vegetables to them and encouraging them to try new foods.
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  So when this opportunity arose, I knew it would be a good fit.
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  I wanted to try it and see if there was something different that I could be
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  doing whenever I go into the classrooms.
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  Awesome. So tell us a little bit more about that specific experience and maybe
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  how you made Dr. Yum work for some of these settings that you were already in
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  and how you tapped into it as a new experience for some of the kids you are working with.
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  I visit several of the preschools in our community once a month,
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  and I have about 30 minutes in each class.
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  So it's a quick moving.
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  We're always doing something. And Dr. Yum has numerous activities to choose
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  from. So I really loved that.
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  And I basically stick with the same format for each class.
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  If the class wants to, and they usually do, they get to start by guessing what
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  I brought for the day and then we read a story that's connected in some way
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  to the fruit or vegetable,
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  And then I go ahead and tell them what it is or let them guess again,
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  depending on how much time we have or how big the class is.
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  And then we actually act out how that fruit or vegetable grows.
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  So if it grows on a vine, then we'll wind our arms around like a vine and they
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  really enjoy that movement aspect.
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  And then we also talk about how that produce helps our body stay healthy and.
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  And then it's time for the most exciting part.
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  They get to pass the fruit or vegetable around the room and touch it and smell it.
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  And depending on what the vegetable or fruit is, then I will have one cut open
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  so that then they can touch the inside.
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  And they love that.
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  That is probably the favorite thing.
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  And if I really will into it and say I'm going to crack this let's say pomegranate
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  because that was the favorite I'm going to crack this pomegranate open and they
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  think that is so funny that I just crack it open
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  and then you know you've got a couple that'll say you already did it,
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  like I did I did,
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  so after they get to touch it
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  then we talk about how the how the fruit or vegetable feels Is it smooth?
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  Is it bumpy? What does it smell like? And then we will actually taste it.
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  You pack so much into just 30 minutes.
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  I mean, that is impressive, especially with little ones, because I imagine there's
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  a lot of oversight that has to be done to keep everyone in line and paying attention.
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  So that is impressive that you can do all of that, but also to be able to incorporate
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  all of these practices that we often encourage anyone that is interested in
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  trying new foods or maybe expanding their palate or their diet.
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  To get involved with this food in so many different ways.
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  So it's incredible to see it put into action with such a large group and in
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  such a fun and exciting way for them. It is a really good time.
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  And when it is time for tasting.
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  We always do it together. We start by smelling the food and then I tell them, you know,
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  If you're ready, you can touch it to your tongue.
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  And, you know, some will, some won't, some will only do the smelling and the touching to the tongue.
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  And then we take a little bitty tiny bite together and then we take a big bite together.
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  And they know we do. One thing that we, you mentioned earlier,
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  Dr. Luking, but that I didn't talk about is that we always talk about to join the team.
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  You don't have to taste the fruit or vegetable.
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  You can touch it. You can tell me about it or describe it.
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  You can smell it or you can taste it. And so I always give them the opportunity
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  to not try it if they don't want to.
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  Yeah, which ultimately the goal is to try it, to have these new experiences.
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  But again, we don't want to ever force anyone into something.
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  And I love how you really highlight the encouraging language and these encouraging practices that Dr.
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  Yum is so great about to get everyone involved. But then also you mentioned you do it together.
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  And like we encourage people to do everything together with meals,
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  have family mealtimes, sit down, enjoy snacks and meals together,
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  talk about foods, how they smell, how they look, how they touch, what the texture is.
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  And then if you're willing to eat it, let's describe the taste in fun ways.
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  Let's talk about the sound that it makes when you bite into it.
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  So I love that you were able to do this with them as a group.
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  And I love that Dr. Yum really kind of lays down the framework for all of this
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  to make it fun and exciting for these little ones to try new things.
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  It can be intimidating. It can be tricky to do. So really highlighting some
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  of these positive, encouraging aspects of Dr. Yum that you do so well with the
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  groups that you work with.
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  Ashley, we would love to hear maybe your highlight from this past year using
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  Dr. Yum or a specific story that you have related to offering Dr. Yum in your community.
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  Well, I mentioned pomegranate was one of the favorites.
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  And I had one little girl in one of the classes,
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  who I hadn't even taken it out of the bag yet. I had just gotten there.
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  We're about to read our story. We were guessing what we were doing.
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  And she was just so excited. And she said, I just can't wait. I can't wait to touch it.
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  And I was like, okay, all right, well, let's guess what it is.
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  And then I took it out of the bag.
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  And she said, oh, it's so cute.
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  Shoot when that passed around the pomegranate they did get to poke at the seeds and see,
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  what that process was and they really enjoyed that but that pomegranate and I have,
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  a parent of another child who I saw not very long after the pomegranate day
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  and she said I can't keep pomegranate seeds in the house because they.
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  And I actually saw two of her children at that time, and she said,
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  they both want all the pomegranate seeds. I can't keep stocked.
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  So I found that to be very much a success, but pomegranate was definitely the highlight of the year.
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  That is definitely a success and sounds like so much fun for you,
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  but also everyone involved. And to hear the parents and caregivers get to give
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  you that feedback is just incredible and so exciting.
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  One last question that I have for you, which you've touched on it a lot,
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  but what did you like most about Dr. Yum?
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  And it's kind of a two-part question. And do you plan on using it in the future?
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  I love the language associated with Dr.
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  Yum. That was one of the things that stood out to me at the very beginning,
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  that we're not talking about foods being good or bad or necessarily even healthy versus unhealthy.
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  We're just focusing on those positive aspects of the foods that we're talking about.
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  And then also the actually getting your hands on the produce.
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  I don't, that's not something that all of the children that we serve get to do.
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  And sometimes just touching the cucumber is.
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  Is more than they've ever been willing to do before. So I really love both of
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  those two aspects of Dr. Yum.
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  And I absolutely will use Dr. Yum in the future. I will continue using it in the classrooms.
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  And then for the past two summers, I have also offered it at my office and been
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  able to incorporate more of the curriculum.
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  Because I have a little bit of longer, longer stretch of time.
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  And I will continue to do that next year. That has continued to be a great program.
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  Amazing. That sounds so wonderful. Courtney, is there anything else you want
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  to add about Dr. Yum, your experience working with all these agents who have
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  been able to implement it and just thinking more broadly about the program.
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  I will just close by saying I think this was a wonderful experience,
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  not only for the children who received the program, but our agents.
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  Ashley, you kind of commented on that when you talked about the difference in
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  language and maybe more intentionality behind getting kids to engage with their
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  senses in a variety of other ways.
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  I know we heard that across. And so I think this program has positively impacted,
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  people in extension in the way that we are delivering our programming and how
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  we're talking about food and can be a role model for helping families navigate
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  what can be a challenging,
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  period of time when children start to express their preferences more and maybe
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  do or don't want to try something or maybe only want to eat a few specific foods.
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  And I think this program can provide a nice support and how to approach introducing
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  children to food and creating a supportive and encouraging atmosphere to try those things.
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  Awesome. Thank you both so much for joining us today.
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  Just to kind of summarize, wrap up all that we've heard, we heard all about Dr.
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  Yum's preschool food adventure and about how it's an encouraging,
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  hands-on experience for little ones to engage with foods using a variety of their senses,
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  really to foster this sense of comfort and familiarity with new foods and encourage
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  them ultimately to try these new foods.
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  This program is currently available in a few counties across the state.
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  And if you're interested in maybe getting your little one involved in this or
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  learning more about the program, we encourage you to reach out to your local
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  Family Consumer Sciences agent.
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  Until then, there are some actions that we can all take away from this experience
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  to support practicing eaters, even outside the classroom or outside of this experience.
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  So we know that trying new foods can be uncomfortable and tricky,
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  and practicing patience really is key.
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  We want to think about engaging with any scents as a win, whether it's touching,
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  smelling, or even just allowing the new food to be on the table or plate that counts.
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  Also, again, we never want to force someone to eat something,
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  allowing them to move at their own pace, as frustrating as it can be.
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  Like any skill healthy eating has to be learned so we want to support practicing
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  eaters as they move through this journey regardless of their age
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  we also want encouraged kids to get involved in the kitchen helping to prepare
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  a meal like pouring mixing or serving depending on their age,
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  encourages these little ones to try it starting from a young age supports them
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  in the practice of preparing nutritious and delicious meals for a lifetime.
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  And then lastly, we want to make it a family affair when we can and encourage
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  everyone to try new or a less familiar food.
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  So this may include eating it, or again, it could simply be smelling it or putting
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  a small serving on their plate.
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  Every exposure counts and repetition is important. After that exposure,
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  this is the chance for everyone to describe their experience and encourage positive
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  descriptions, talking about the taste, the smell, the color,
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  and whatever else those creative minds can come up with.
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  Healthy eating is a skill we can learn at any age, and starting young supports
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  a growing body to learn and play and can support good health over a lifetime.
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  Thank you all once again for joining us on Talking FACS..
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  Thank you for listening to Talking FACS. We deliver programs focusing on nutrition,
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  health, resource management, family development, and civic engagement.
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  Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program or contact your local Extension
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  agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.
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  We build strong families. We build Kentucky. It starts with us.