Just Say Yes to Fruits and Vegetables (JSY) is a direct education and PSE change intervention designed to promote health and reduce long-term chronic disease risks through the promotion of increased fruit and vegetable consumption. Using nutrition education workshops, food demonstrations, and promotion of healthy food pantry best practices JSY works to ensure SNAP-eligible adults and families in New York eat nutritious foods, make the most of their food budgets, prepare foods in a safe manner, increase physical activity, and drink healthier beverages.
Intervention Target Behavior: Healthy Eating, Food Insecurity/Food Assistance, Physical Activity and Reducing Screen Time
SNAP-Ed Strategies: Direct Education, PSE Change
JSY prioritizes engagement with SNAP-eligible urban and rural families, women with children and elderly populations, who access food banks, food pantries, shelters, farmers markets and community centers.
Settings: Community-wide, Farmers Markets
Age/Population Group: Adults, Unhoused, Older Adults, Parents/Caregivers
Race: All
Ethnicity: All
The JSY curriculum includes a series of 15 learner-centered and facilitated, interactive lesson plans focusing on the following topic areas: Improving dietary quality; Making healthy food choices using MyPlate; Budgeting food dollars to eat healthier; Cooking with beans; Healthy meal planning; Healthy portion sizes; Understanding nutrition facts labels; Benefits of fiber; Safe food handling; Being physically active; Consuming healthier beverages; Reducing Food Waste; Shopping at farmers' markets; and Healthy Changes Eating Out. In addition, each JSY workshop includes a fruit or vegetable recipe demonstration that provides practical and actionable information for families to use at home.
Marketing and PSE change includes distribution of fresh produce to participants attending JSY workshops (from partner food banks), implementing healthy food donation guidelines and a "Healthy Pantry Initiative" program to improve access to healthy foods in emergency feeding programs.
JSY intervention materials for consumers can be requested by emailing JSY@health.ny.gov. Professionals including nutrition educators, nutrition professionals and funders can request access to the following JSY resources: the curriculum, nutrition handouts, recipes and nutrition newsletters. Consumers can access recipes and money saving tips in two languages, plus find the contact information for a food bank in their community.
JSY participant surveys are optional and are used to measure participant knowledge gains and intended behavior change outcomes, specifically if participants intend to increase fruit and vegetable consumption; prepare JSY recipes on their own; increase physical activity; and decrease consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages as a result of participating in JSY nutrition education classes. JSY participant surveys now inclide an inquiry about the participant's experience As a result of participating in JSY nutrition education classes, surveys showed participants:
- Learned about a new or different way to prepare a fruit, vegetable, or healthy food (67%)
- Participants attending 2 or more workshops report consuming fruits at least once per day (51%)
- Participants attending 2 or more workshops report consuming vegetables at least once per day (50%)
- Participants attending 2 or more workshops report consuming sugar-sweetened beverages less than once per week or not at all (56%)
- Report feeling more confident to choose the most affordable food option after attending a JSY workshop (60%)
Evidence Base: Practice-tested
Based on the SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework, the following outcome indicators can be used to evaluate intervention progress and success.
| Readiness and Capacity - Short Term (ST) | Changes - Medium Term (MT) | Effectiveness and Maintenance - Long Term (LT) | Population Results (R) | |
| Individual | ST1, ST2, ST3, ST4 | MT1, MT2, MT3, MT4 | ||
| Environmental Settings | ST5 | MT5 | LT5 | |
| Sectors of Influence |
The JSY participant survey is used to report intention after attending a JSY workshop to eat more fruits and vegetables, prepare JSY recipes on their own, increase physical activity, and decrease consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. JSY surveys now include an additional question framed in a trauma informed care approach evaluating the participant's experience of a JSY workshop.
Website: The JSY website (jsyfruitveggies.org) includes access to the JSY curriculum, nutrition handouts, recipes and nutrition newsletters for professionals, and access to recipes and money saving tips in two languages plus access to partner food bank websites for information on JSY nutrition education workshops.
Contact Persons:
Clare DiSanto (Program Coordinator)
Email: Clare.DiSanto@health.ny.gov
Phone: (518) 402-7333
*Updated as of October 6, 2023