Evaluation of the school-based ‘PhunkyFoods’ intervention: a cluster randomised controlled trial in the UK

Objective:

We evaluated the impact of an established nutrition education intervention, ‘PhunkyFoods’ on food literacy, cooking skills, and fruit and vegetable intake in primary school aged children.

Design:

A pre-registered cluster randomised controlled trial was used; the intervention group received the ‘PhunkyFoods’ programme and the wait-list control group received the usual school curriculum. Primary outcomes measured were differences in food literacy and cooking skills scores between the intervention and control arms after 12 months adjusted for baseline values.

Setting:

The trial was undertaken in 26 primary schools in North Yorkshire, UK.

Participants:

631 children aged 6 – 9 years participated (intervention n = 307, control n = 324) through assemblies, classroom activities and after-school clubs.

Results:

There were no significant effects of the intervention compared to control on food literacy, cooking skills, vegetable intake or fruit intake. Adjusting for baseline, the Food Literacy Total Score was 1.13 points lower in the intervention group than the control (95% CI -2.87 to 0.62, p = 0.2). The Cooking Skills Total Score was 0.86 lower in the intervention group compared to the control (95% CI = -5.17 to 3.45, p = 0.69). Girls scored 2.8 points higher than boys in cooking skills across the sample (95% CI = 0.88 to 4.82, p < 0.01).

Conclusion:

The intervention did not result in improved food literacy or cooking skills, though sex effects on these outcomes were observed. More practical food preparation hours are needed in primary schools to improve likelihood of an effect on outcomes.