Defining Food Education Standards through Consensus: The Pilot Light Food Education Summit

Overview & Synopsis

Background: Consistent with the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Approach, food education encompasses nutritional status, culture, community, environment, and society. Unifying standards are needed to support food education integration in K-12 curricula. Pilot Light, a Chicago-based nonprofit, sought to generate such standards. This study reports a formative evaluation research process that led to the development of Food Education Standards (FES). Methods: Nine FES were drafted within the context of the National Health Education Standards. The 2-day Pilot Light Food Education Summit convened 26 experts and community members to review draft FES. A facilitated, consensus-building process generated refined FES and K-12 competencies. Drawing on Summit outcomes and expert feedback, a team of teachers subsequently drafted final FES. Summit participants completed pre- and post-Summit surveys to assess changes in food education priorities. Results: The initial 9 FES were refined to 7. Comparison data indicated shifts in endorsed priorities for food education, moving from prioritizing specific knowledge, such as "categorizing food into food groups," toward "students having a conscious decision-making process around food." Conclusions: Developed with input from experts across multidisciplinary fields, the evidence-based Pilot Light FES can be feasibly implemented in multiple subjects across all school types and community socio-demographic levels.