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Objective: Use the Community Readiness Model (CRM) to develop and evaluate a contextually appropriate pilot culinary training program for school nutrition staff members., Design: Mixed methods to guide intervention development., Settings: Six school districts in rural and urban areas of a southwestern state., Participants: School nutrition staff (n = 36; female; <1 to >20 years' experience)., Intervention: Pre- and post-training assessments used the CRM. Findings from the pre-assessment were used to develop the pilot culinary training intervention., Main Outcome Measure: Readiness to integrate new food preparation methods into existing practices., Analysis: The researchers used t and Wilcoxon tests to compare overall readiness and dimension scores (P ≤ .05). Thematic analysis was used to identify themes from the discussion component of the assessments., Results: Overall readiness increased from vague awareness to preparation (P = .02). Improved dimensions were knowledge of efforts (P = .004), leadership (P = .05), and knowledge of issues (P = .04). Themes included barriers, leadership, and motivation., Conclusions and Implications: The CRM was useful for developing and evaluating a contextually appropriate and effective culinary training program for school nutrition staff. Future efforts should address the provision of additional resources such as on-site chefs, small equipment grants, and engaging school stakeholders., (Copyright © 2017 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To determine whether integrating influence strategies (reciprocation, consistency, consensus, feeling liked, authority, and scarcity) throughout Chickasaw Nation Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics (1) changed participants' perception of the WIC experience and (2) affected breastfeeding initiation rates., Methods: Two-part, quasi-experimental design., Setting: Four WIC clinics., Participants: Parents and caregivers of children birth to 3 years., Intervention: Behavior change intervention based on Social Cognitive Theory using Caildini's Principles of Influence. Traditional-model groups (control) received services prior to the intervention; influence-model groups (experimental) received services after initiation of the intervention., Main Outcomes: The preliminary demonstration project surveyed 2 groups to measure changes in their perceptions of the WIC environment. Secondary data analysis measured changes in breastfeeding initiation in 2 groups of postpartum women., Analyses: Frequency analysis, independent sample t tests, chi-square for independence, step-wise logistic regression., Results: The demonstration project resulted in 5 improved influence measures (P < .02), aligning with the influence principle of "feeling liked." The model had a small effect (φ = 0.10) in distinguishing breastfeeding initiation; women in the influence model were 1.5 times more likely (95% CI, 1.19-1.86; P < .05) to initiate breastfeeding compared with women in the traditional model, controlling for parity, mother's age, and race., Conclusions and Implications: Consistent with Social Cognitive Theory, changing the WIC environment by integrating influence principles may positively affect women's infant feeding decisions and behaviors, specifically breastfeeding initiation rates., (Copyright © 2014 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)