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SPHI Brief 37: Reaching Communities Through School Children – Students as Agents of Change

The International Potato Center (CIP) conducted studies in Nigeria and Ethiopia among school children to understand their response to information they receive about orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP). The studies used experimental methods, to introduce OFSP along with nutrition information designed to nudge children to regularly consume OFSP as part of regular school lunch meal. OFSP was introduced alongside normal local popular food or regular school lunch meals. Consumption of OFSP was measured using the plate waste method – that is, the proportion of OFSP left uneaten – over several weeks. Results demonstrated that the nutrition messages that tout the benefits of OFSP increased consumption of OFSP.