Eatiquette 360 educates students and supports healthy lifestyles for families in Philadelphia school communities. Nationally, students receive an average of 3.4 hours of nutrition education per year. Vetri Community Partnership's Eatiquette 360 program wants to change that in Philadelphia, PA. The Partnership works with local schools in areas where most people are eligible to receive SNAP.

The Chef Mentor
Eatiquette 360 assigns each eligible school a Chef Mentor. The Chef Mentor is a culinary and health resource for the cafeteria, classroom, and community. Multiple times per week, the Chef Mentor is in the cafeteria. The Chef Mentor works on improving healthy eating in the school with school staff. Then the Chef Mentor gives hands-on classes. The classes are about cooking skills, as well as nutrition education. The Chef Mentor teaches hands-on classes three times per year. These classes use whole foods in a safe and thoughtful environment.
Eatiquette 360
The aim of Eatiquette 360 is to teach students life-long healthy eating patterns. The student classes teach that cooking and eating fresh vegetables can be fun, easy, and delicious. These classes are held during the school day for students. Eatiquette 360 includes related programs for students’ caregivers. Caregiver classes reinforce healthy eating behaviors in the home. Eatiquette 360 also has social media campaigns and online resources. The program operates a Facebook page. The page provides healthy recipes and information about the program. It also gives people tips on how to prepare food and plan meals. These messages help reinforce the messages from the classes.
Eatiquette 360 also works with schools individually. Each school has unique needs. The program collaborates with faculty and staff. Together, they find good ways to improve the school environment. This year the program is using the curriculum called A Taste of African Heritage. The classes use traditional ingredients and healthy cooking methods. It is a great example of how the program teaches relevant skills and recipes.

A Parent's View
"My 7-year-old son, Emmanuel, comes home from school and tells me, “I like kale now” or “I like mushrooms,” and that allows us to serve a greater variety of these items at home. Schools should be a partner in building a healthy environment for your child. I appreciate that the school lunches that my son is being served are in alignment with what he’s learning about nutrition. My daughter, who’s a really picky eater, starts school next year and I’m hoping that [the Eatiquette 360] program rubs off on her too."
- Justin DiBerardinis, parent of a first grader at Wissahickon Fernhill Charter School (one of the Philadelphia schools in the Eatiquette 360 program)
Program Facts
Eatiquette 360 has been a SNAP-Ed partner since fall 2017. The program currently serves over 6,277 students.
- 14 partner schools
- 300 Eatiquette in the Classroom sessions
- 33 Eatiquette for Caregivers sessions
- 660,520 total Eatiquette school lunches served
Evaluation
The Eatiquette 360 program is conducting a preliminary evaluation. The evaluation is using the modified School Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPAN) and Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) evaluation tools. Initial data may be available as early as late 2018.
This success story was written and submitted by the Vertri Community Partnership, a SNAP-Ed implementing agency. For more information, please contact Danielle Zimmerman.