From Carrots to Peas and Parsnips: Programming Flexibility through Guided Multisensory Exploration in an Early Childhood Environment

Early childhood interventions that include food tasting have assessed factors affecting food preferences. In the U.S., Cooperative Extension programs teach children through sensory experiences. However such interventions have not been empirically tested. The aim of Massachusetts Farm Fresh was to assess the feasibility of a multisensory-based research approach to vegetable familiarization with 3–5 year old children in an early childhood education environment. Outcome measures quantified the shifts from baseline to follow-up in children’s (1) willingness-to-explore (WTE) scores, determined with a 5-category rating scale (0–4; 0=no engagement, examined, smelled, licked, 4=swallowed 1≥ bites), (2) willingness-to-try rating scale, WRS (examined, licked only, spit out), and (3) consumption in grams (gm). Ten classrooms across 6 Head Start sites were selected for the 7-week study. Four classrooms were assigned to a puppet-guided (PG) intervention (n=90 children) and six comprised the facilitator-guided (FG) cou...