Ingredients for Education Launches Innovative Digital Health Nutrition Program on the West Coast

LOS ANGELES, CA --(Marketwired - April 14, 2016) - Hungry for change, Partnerships to Uplift Communities (PUC) Schools and Ingredients for Education (IFE) nonprofit (501c3) launch "KickinNutrition.TV" digital health nutrition program for the first time in California. PUC Schools are implementing KickinNutrition.TV (KNTV) in nine charter schools with over 820 students and 11 teachers in third through eighth grades. All PUC Title 1 Schools serve a diverse student body in urban low-income communities throughout Los Angeles County and San Fernando Valley.

With approximately 50% of children in Los Angeles County and San Fernando Valley reporting that they eat fast food once a week and only 16-17% of adults in these communities reporting that they consume the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day, an innovative solution is needed to foster healthy behavior change. The KNTV online program will fill the gap by providing engaging digital health nutrition education through a much-needed 21^st century approach to childhood obesity prevention.

KickinNutrition.TV is IFE's marque program that teaches students about healthy eating, cooking, nutrition, and fitness through original videos, character-driven content, and Avatar-based games. KNTV is entertaining, engaging, and evidence-based. The learning extends beyond the classroom to the home with 24/7 online access to the KNTV site. Evaluations of KNTV demonstrate a positive impact on students' eating behaviors, nutrition knowledge, and ability to influence the family and home food environment. 

PUC Schools are dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of students and families in their communities. IFE is proud to bring KNTV to Revolution Foods' partner schools in California. Revolution Foods provides healthy, fresh, real foods to PUC students at meal times and paved the way for IFE to serve up a hearty dish of nutrition education as a natural extension of its commitment to building lifelong healthy eaters.

"KNTV jumped out to me as something that PE teachers could easily incorporate into their classrooms. I love that the program can be brought into the classroom at any given moment with little preparation time and I love the use of comedy and activities. I jumped at the opportunity to bring KNTV to PUC Schools," said Jada Kelly, Health and Fitness Manager for PUC Schools.

See what PUC Schools' educators and students have to say about welcoming KNTV into their classrooms in this video!

KNTV's research-based curriculum and content was developed by a former Sesame Street International Executive Producer, Natasha Lance Rogoff, in collaboration with nutrition and education experts from Boston University, Harvard School of Public Health, Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and advisors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Watching my own digital natives grow up, I saw a real need for effective nutrition programming in the United States. I was able to use my experiences in children's media to create content that was fun and relatable to today's youth. With the help of nutrition and education experts, we created a 21^st Century solution to the obesity epidemic that students and teachers love," said Natasha Lance Rogoff, IFE President and Founder. 

The creation of KickinNutrition.TV content was made possible by a two-year grant from USDA-NIFA-SBIR. This grant was made available to KidsCOOK Productions for initial research, development, and proto-type testing of the program. The Heckscher Foundation Children, Thomas L. Kempner Jr. and the Mario Batali Foundation have generously provided additional support for program distribution to Ingredients for Education and pro-bono services have been provided by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Harvard Business School Board Fellows, and Ropes and Grey.

About Ingredients for Education 

Ingredients for Education (IFE), is a nonprofit (501c3) organization that distributes the KickinNutrition.TV (KNTV) program. IFE is committed to serving communities and schools by offering free distribution of KNTV to Title 1 schools and afterschool programs to foster lifelong healthy habits, self-efficacy, and leadership using technology. IFE provides children and their families with the tools, inspiration, and education to adopt healthier eating habits and lifestyle choices. With support from philanthropic foundations, IFE's KNTV program has been adopted by schools in New York, Massachusetts, Florida, and California, providing nutrition education to 20,000 students in underserved communities where children are at higher risk for obesity and poor diet. For more information visit: www.ingredientsforeducation.org and www.kickinnutrition.tv or Twitter: @KicknNutrition and Facebook: KickinNutrition.TV

About Partnership to Uplift Communities Schools

Partnership to Uplift Communities (PUC) Schools' mission is to develop and operate high quality charter public schools in densely populated urban communities with overcrowded and low achieving schools. PUC creates school programs and cultures that result in college graduation for all students who graduate with a commitment to serve their communities. They uplift and revitalize communities through their work. PUC School's vision is to facilitate school reform through a regional approach currently focused on the communities of Northeast Los Angeles and the Northeast San Fernando Valley. As a result of the work of PUC National, their school model has now been replicated in Rochester, New York. For more information visit: http://www.pucschools.org/.

IFE Website: http://ingredientsforeducation.org/
KNTV Website: http://kickinnutrition.tv/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kickinnutritiontv/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KicknNutrition

Embedded Video Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVYh60YPSlA