Multi-sensory nutrition education interventions aimed at promoting children’s preferences for vegetables have the potential to positively impact children’s intake of essential micronutrients and phytochemicals. We implemented our intervention in Western Massachusetts Head Start preschool classrooms, as part of Massachusetts Farm Fresh research project. Social cognitive theory, early childhood developmental milestones, and the play approach to learning provided the framework. During the 4-week intervention, eight vegetables were matched by appearance and growing process to create vegetable pairs (green bean-sugar snap pea, broccoli-cauliflower, beet-radish, and carrot-parsnip). Each week, two animal puppets introduced the children in the classroom to the vegetable pairs by highlighting the vegetable’s color, shape, texture, and growth process. Complete baseline and follow-up consumption data were available for 60 three to five year old children. Total mean consumption (g) increased pre-post intervention (pre: 14.75 + 1.38 vs. post: 17.83 + 2.05 g) (p= 0.06). Specifically, mean consumption (g) increased for peas (pre: 1.32 + 0.26 vs. post: 2.03 + 0.36 g) (p=0.04), parsnips (pre: 1.31 + 0.24 vs. post: 2.06 + 0.35 g) (p=0.04), and for the high-sugar content vegetables (pre: 7.41 + 0.82 vs. post: 9.75 +1.14 g) (p=0.02). Mean consumption of the red and white colored vegetables respectively were (pre: 2.66 + 0.41 vs. post: 3.68 + 0.54 g) (p=0.07) and (pre: 2.81 + 0.46 vs. post: 3.93 + 0.61) (p=0.08). Findings suggest that a puppet based nutrition education intervention highlighting the sensory attributes has the potential to increase young children’s consumption of vegetables.

The goal of this study was to understand the relationship between food neophobia and bitterness in consumer liking. Fruit and vegetable consumption is necessary for elementary school children to build healthy habits. Free and reduced lunch programs (FRL) in schools provide nutritional opportunities to students. Bitterness sensitivity and food neophobia were examined as separate drivers of liking in acceptance testing (n=161, ages 6-12) from two local elementary schools (high and low %FRL). The food neophobia scale and the fruit and vegetable neophobia instrument (FNVI) were used to determine food neophobia. FNVI scores distinguished consumers in hierarchical cluster analysis of overall liking. FVNI scores correlated to texture liking and flavor liking in familiar and unfamiliar fruits and vegetables. Non-bitter sensitive participants unexpectedly exhibited more neophobia than bitter sensitive participants. Neophobic participants liked familiar products more than unfamiliar products. Bitter sensitive participants were less neophobic and preferred bitter vegetables

Depression is one of the most debilitating disorders among youth. Many factors impact depression risk, and dietary quality is one of the most significant modifiable factors. This work was to investigate whether diet quality, including protein, sugar, vegetables, and omega-3 fatty acids’ intake, had any effect on the development of depression. Data from 82 subjects were used for analysis. There was no significant relationship between Dietary Quality Index (p=.21, n=82) and depression based on this research. Results included total protein (p=.77, n=82), animal-based protein (p=.77, n=82), vegetable-based protein (p=.29, n=82), total sugar (p=.55, n=78), added sugar (p=.48, n=78), total vegetable (p=.56, n=82) and omega3 fatty acids (p=.92, n=82). These results were not up to expectations and did not conform to previous findings. Future research should be performed with a larger sample size among the college-aged population to determine the relationship between dietary factors and depression risk.

Because of the greatly increased supply of genetic variation which it provides, introgression is of great importance in determining both the rate and the direction of evolution. Hybridization between the genera Cowania and Purshia provides an excellent model for demonstrating the various products which might be expected from introgression. The present study is an attempt to further investigate phylogenetic relationships of Cowania mexicana and Purshia tridentata by use of cytological and biochemical techniques.

In the past twenty years many workers have made contributions to a better understanding of hybridization and introgression through studies of members of the grass family. The present study is an attempt to increase the understanding of the importance and amount of hybridization and introgression in members of the Tribe Hordeae. This study is concerned with a hybrid complex involving Agropyron subsecundum (Link) Hitchc. (bearded wheatgrass), Agropyron trachycaulum (Link) Malte (slender wheatgrass) and Elymus glaucus Buckl. (blue wild rye).

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