Part of the SNAP-Ed Strategies & Interventions Toolkit.*
Pick a better snack™(PABS) is a social marketing campaign created to promote the consumption of fruits and vegetables by marketing them as an alternative to less healthy snacks. PABS monthly K-3 teacher, and nutrition educator lessons are available online as well as newsletters, bingo cards, fruit and vegetable fact sheets, and marketing materials.
An outcome evaluation was conducted in 2011-12 as part of the USDA SNAP-Ed Evaluation Study (Wave II). The evaluation relied on data collected from 3rd grade students and their parents/caregivers. The study consisted of two intervention groups: BASICS (direct education only) and BASICS Plus (direct education plus social marketing). Intervention groups were compared to a control group. The findings suggested that the BASICS program is sufficient to achieve most of the primary program impacts. The addition of social marketing provided a limited benefit over the BASICS program alone. Process evaluation revealed a high degree of satisfaction with the program by participants, parents and school personnel. Other evaluation activities occur regularly.
Evaluation Framework Indicators: ST1a, ST1b, MT12, MT12b
The school based kit, 'Pick a better snack' includes K-3 grade lesson plans for each month from September to May. The monthly lessons focus on fruits, vegetables, and physical activity. All of the lessons are available on the Web site.
Also included as a part of the campaign are: -Parent Newsletters and bingo cards in English and Spanish -Marketing Materials (posters, billboards, radio ads, videos, etc.)
Newsletters are updated annually and include recipes, buying and storing information and cost-saving tips. All forms of fruits and vegetables are promoted. Bingo cards are updated every two years and provide seasonal fruit and vegetable and physical activity suggestions.
*SNAP-Ed Strategies & Interventions: An Obesity Prevention Toolkit for States is a compilation of interventions. The toolkit was developed by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, The Association of SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education Administrators (ASNNA), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Center for Training and Research Translation (Center TRT), and the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR), a partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes for Health (NIH), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the USDA. It is designed and updated to help state SNAP-Ed administrative and implementing agencies identify evidence-based obesity prevention programs and policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies and interventions to include in their SNAP-Ed plans.