Fruits and vegetables (F&V) are an important component of a healthy diet, but few children are meeting the recommended number of servings. Children from families with limited resources may be least likely to meet the recommendation. This study was designed to understand the strategies and priorities of families with low income related to purchasing F&V. We conducted qualitative, in-depth telephone interviews with low-income parents of elementary school-aged children as part of a random sample of parents participating in a telephone survey who agreed to be contacted for an in-depth interview. Interview transcripts were coded based on predetermined codes that were informed by the research questions. F&V were not considered staples by parents and cost was one of the main concerns. Parents equated F&V with fresh F&V. Interventions encouraging F&V purchasing by families with low income need to find new ways to address the issue of cost, including advocating for F&V in all forms (fresh, frozen, canned, and dried).

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Gaining parents' attention and engaging them in healthy eating practices for their children can be a useful way to increase the effectiveness of school-based nutrition education programs. This study demonstrates the benefits of incorporating a parent-focused social marketing campaign in nutrition education interventions.

Pick a better snack™, a multicomponent social marketing intervention to promote fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption, develops children’s ability to ask their parents for F&V. This study’s purpose was to understand this “pester power” from the child’s perspective. Pester power is leveraging children’s ability to convince their parents to purchase items in the store that they normally would not have considered buying. Focus groups were conducted with third-grade program participants ( n = 30) and involved a traditional discussion format, a drawing activity, and role-playing. Most of the communication participants described involved straightforward requests, although a few children described behaviors such as whining. Most reported their parents responded affirmatively to requests, and some described a positive emotional response from parents. Parent denials were typically related to concerns about cost or the child not eating the item after purchase. Findings pointed to high self-efficacy and response efficacy among these children, although role-playing of effective asking strategies and addressing reasons why parents deny requests could enhance the program. Social marketing efforts including children should consider how pester power may play a role in moving adult behavior.

The current study assessed improvement in healthy lifestyles of third-grade children from Iowa schools who participated in nutrition education lessons provided by the Iowa Department