The STC program goals are:

• Educating students on the benefits of healthy eating, with a focus on fruits and vegetables.
• Identifying barriers to better nutrition and developing solutions that can be applied at school and at home
• Learning how policies, systems, and their home and school environment affect behaviors
• Introducing students to their district’s Wellness Committee and encouraging connection and advocacy
  • Inspiring long-term engagement in school wellness policy and practices

STC is an 8-lesson school-based policy, system, and environment (PSE) intervention that empowers students to make changes in what they eat at school and at home, particularly in their intake of fruit and vegetables, and to see their community represented in the school meals.

In addition to highlighting the importance and benefits of fruits and vegetables in the diet, lessons also incorporate the following topics:

• MyPlate and the five food groups
• Local produce, seasonality, and supporting local farms
• Reading and writing recipes
• Understanding food marketing and its influence on food choices

Research on the effectiveness of the STC program, conducted during the 2017-2019 implementation years, indicates that students participating in the STC program show significant improvements in their knowledge of policy, systems, and environmental interventions, as well as their self-efficacy to ask for fruits and vegetables at home and in the school environment.

Made Possible by USDA Team Nutrition Grant

The University of Rhode Island (URI) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education (SNAP-Ed) team created the Students Take Charge (STC) program to improve the lives of upper elementary students across the state. Schools are determined based on the desire to participate in the program. The STC program provided eight 40-minute lessons weekly, focusing on nutrition education, PSE efforts, student advocacy, and recipe creation. Students take the practical lessons home to their families, where more fresh fruits and vegetables are added to the plate.

As part of the Team Nutrition grant, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), URI SNAP-Ed, Farm Fresh Rhode Island, Johnson & Wales University, and Rhode Island Healthy Schools Coalition set a goal to expand the successful STC program so that all students in Rhode Island can participate.

With this turn-key toolkit, we aim to provide the resources necessary for any community
member, parent, teacher, or local wellness committee member to add the STC program to their
school.

How to Use the Toolkit

The Students Take Charge (STC) Toolkit provides best practices, timelines, handouts, and
curriculum for the nutrition education program. To ease the burden of delivering this great
program to Rhode Island students, the toolkit includes these resources for the following lesson
types:

• 8-week, fully scripted lessons
  Each lesson equates to a 40-minute session
• 12 video lessons for elementary-aged students
  Each video is approximately 5 minutes
• 12 video lessons for middle and high school-aged students
  Each video is approximately 12 minutes

The goals are the same for any STC lesson option; the user decides which works best for their group of students. Additionally, the user can choose to use the lessons together or separately.

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USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights
regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race,
color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or
reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with
disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g.,
Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or
local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice
and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027,
USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

• mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights1400
• Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
• fax:(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
• email:program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.