Building Food Literacy in Adolescence: A Pilot Study of the Teens CAN Curriculum

Background/Objectives: There is a limited body of research on evidence-based food literacy education for adolescents. The inquiry-based curriculum, Teens CAN: Comprehensive Food Literacy in Cooking, Agriculture, and Nutrition, was designed to improve food literacy among adolescents ages 14–18 years. This study aimed to assess the Teens CAN curriculum by examining changes in food literacy outcomes among high school–aged adolescents and explore the effectiveness of undergraduate facilitators in implementing the curriculum with fidelity. Methods: This quasi-experimental pilot study was conducted among high school students comprising intervention (n =14) and comparison groups (n = 16). All Teens CAN lessons were delivered by trained undergraduate facilitators, and lesson fidelity was measured by a trained observer. Baseline and follow-up survey measures assessed various components of food literacy, including adolescent nutrition knowledge, diet quality, and intrinsic motivation to prepare healthy food (cooking self-efficacy). Between-group differences were examined using t-tests, and ANCOVA regression models assessed associations between changes in baseline to follow-up nutrition knowledge, diet quality, and cooking self-efficacy, adjusting for baseline values. Results: The adolescents in the intervention group had a significant increase in nutrition knowledge scores compared to the comparison group (4.6 ± 2.3 vs. 1.1 ± 3.7, respectively; p = 0.01). High fidelity (≥80%) was achieved across lessons and lesson components. In ANCOVA regression analyses, participation in the intervention was positively associated with nutrition knowledge (β = 3.3, 95% CI [0.87–5.80]; p = 0.01), providing evidence for future investigation. Conclusions: The findings from this pilot study suggest that Teens CAN has the potential to positively influence food literacy and related behaviors among adolescents, therefore warranting further investigation in a larger population.