NJHKI is part of the Institute for Food, Nutrition, & Health at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, a leading research and education institution dedicated to improving the health and well-being of people through food, nutrition, and physical activity. NJHKI’s multi-disciplinary team of education and child health experts and interns are qualified and experienced in PreK-12 education, teacher professional development, and nutrition and physical literacy. Since our inception in 2010, NJHKI has provided food and physical literacy education to over 2,000 children statewide. We have developed a variety of free resources for schools and non-profit organizations, including lesson plans, handouts, and online training modules. We are actively involved in food and physical literacy education research and have presented at national and international conferences.
NJHKI will partner with schools to provide site-specific professional development workshops focused on food and nutrition education, physical literacy education, and creating a supportive school environment for healthy eating and physical activity. In addition to training, we will provide resources such as lesson plans, handouts, and online training modules. We will give ongoing support and coaching to support the implementation of these items. NJHKI will use tools such as survey data, focus groups, interviews, and document studies to evaluate outcomes such as changes in teacher knowledge and confidence in teaching food, nutrition, and physical literacy, student knowledge, attitudes, and skills about healthy eating and physical activity, and the implementation of food, nutrition, and physical literacy practices.
NJHKI will provide New Jersey schools with the resources and support they need to create a school environment that supports healthy eating and physical activity for all students. For more information, please contact NJHKI’s Program Coordinator, Faith Qualshie, at faith.qualshie@rutgers.edu.
