Pamela Ann Koch
Office Location:
Building 528, Rm 530BFaculty Expertise:
Educational Background
B.S. (Home Economics, Human Nutrition and Dietetics), Cook College, Rutgers University, 1988
M.S. (Applied Nutrition) Rutgers University, 1992
M.Ed. (Community Nutrition) Teachers College, 1998
Ed.D. (Nutrition Education) Teachers College, Columbia University, 2000
Scholarly Interests
• Curriculum development, evaluation, and teacher professional development
• K–12 nutrition education, healthy school meals, school gardens, and wellness policy
• Sustainable food systems and agro-ecological food production
• Farm, food safety, child nutrition, food security, and nutrition education policy
Selected Publications
Peer-reviewed articles (2018-present)
Olarte DA, Koch PA, Wolf RL, Contento IR. Teachers’ Resources to Support School Lunch: Professional Development Is Warranted. Nutrients. 2022; 14(21):4596. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14214596 |
Cadenhead JW, McCarthy JE, Nguyen TT, Rodriguez M, Koch PA. Qualitative Study of Participation Facilitators and Barriers for Emergency School Meals and Pandemic Electronic Benefits (P-EBT) in an Urban Setting during COVID-19. Nutrients. 2022 Aug 16;14(16):3358. |
Contento I, Paul R, Marin-Chollom M, A Ogden Gaffney A, Sepulveda J,Dominguez Naxielly, Gray H, Haase A, Hershman D, Koch P, Greenlee H. Developing a diet and physical activity intervention for Hispanic/Latina breast cancer survivors. Cancer Control. 2022;29 doi: 10.1177/10732748221133987 |
Harb AA, Shechter A, Koch PA, St-Onge MP. Ultra-processed foods and the development of obesity in adults. European Journal Clinical Nutrition. 2022 Oct 24. doi: 10.1038/s41430-022-01225-z. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36280730. |
Ash S, Contento I, Olfert MD, Koch P. Nutrition Educator Competencies for Promoting Healthy Individuals, Communities, and Food Systems: Rationale and Application. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior S1499-4046(22)00480-8. 11 Nov. 2022, doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2022.07.010 |
Parks S, Kuriansky J, Koch P. Confronting the Crisis of COVID-19: Evolution of a Model for Preservation of People and the Planet. Special Issue: Psychology and the COVID-19 Pandemic – A Global Perspective Article. International Perspectives in Psychology, 11(3), 188–196, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1027/2157-3891/a00005.3 |
Santiago-Torres M, Contento I, Koch P, Tsai WY, Gaffney AO, Marín-Chollom AM, Shi Z, Ulanday KT, Shen H, Hershman D, Greenlee H. Associations Between Acculturation and Weight, Diet Quality, and Physical Activity Among Latina Breast Cancer Survivors: The ¡Mi Vida Saludable! Study. Journal of the Academy for Nutrition and Dietetics. :S2212-2672(22)00198-8. 2022 Apr 7 doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2022.04.002. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35398558. |
Harb AA, Roberts KJ, McCarthy JE, Koch PA. Comparison of Missing School Meals among Public Schools: How Did New York State Do during COVID-19? International Journal Environmental Research in Public Health.19(10):5838, 2022 May 11. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19105838. PMID: 35627375; PMCID: PMC9141843. |
Olarte DA, Stock M, Sutton M, Scott M, Koch PA, Gustus S, Cohen JFW. Teachers’ Experiences Implementing a School Wellness Initiative in Anchorage, AK: A Qualitative Study, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2021.12.002. |
Alvarez-Sánchez C, Guillén H, Contento IR, Koch P, Théodore FL. Soda Consumption Among Mexican Construction Workers in the Context of the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax. Health Education & Behavior 1–11, doi: 10.1177/10901981211050031. Online October 27, 2021. |
Sterling EJ, Betley E, Ahmed A, Akabas A, Clegg DJ, Downs S, Izumi B, 7, Koch P, Kross SM, Spiller K, Teron L, Valley W. Centering Equity in Sustainable Food Systems Education. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2021.737434 [accepted September 2021] |
Koch PA, Wolf RL, Trent R, Ang IYH, Dallefeld M, Tipton E, Gray HL, Guerra L, Di Noia J. Wellness in the Schools: A Lunch Intervention Increases Fruit and Vegetable Consumption. Nutrients 2021, 13(9), 3085; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13093085. |
Santiago-Torees M, Contento I, Koch P, Tsai, W-Y, Brickman AM, Gaffney AO, Crane TE, Dominguez N, Sepulveda J, Marin-Chollom AM, Paul R, Shi, Z, Ulanday KT, Hale C Hershman D, Greenlee H. ¡Mi Vida Saludable! A Randomized Controlled, 2X2 Factorial Trial of a Diet and Physical Activity Intervention amoung Latina Breast Cancer Survivors: Study Design and Methods. Contemporary Clinical Trials 2021;110:106524. |
Ijaz D, Trent R, Koch P. Creating the Scratch Cooked School Food Framework: Qualitative Data Analysis of a Scratch Cooking Pilot. Health Promotion Practice [Available online] https://doi.org/10.1177/15248399211038942 |
Koch P. Equity at the Core. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 53(7): 551, (Editorial), 2021. |
Lumsden C, Edelstein BL, Basch CE, Wolf R, Koch PA, McKeague I, Leu C-S, Andrews H. Protocol for a family-centered behavioral intervention to reduce early childhood caries: the MySmileBuddy program efficacy trial. BMC Oral Health 21, 246 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-021-01582-4 |
Koch P. Mary Swartz Rose. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 53(6): 455, (Editorial), 2021. |
Koch P. Making “Thrifty” Go Further. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 53(4): 277, (Editorial), 2021. |
Koch P. New Dietary Guidelines, New Opportunities. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 52(11): 993 (Editorial), 2020. |
Koch P. McCarthy J, Raffel C, Gray HL, Guerra LA. Expanding and Enhancing Food and Nutrition Education in New York City Public Schools: An Examination of Program Characteristics and Distribution. Nutrients, 12:2423, 2020. doi:10.3390/nu12082423 [open access]. |
Koch P. Forging the Future of Food and Nutrition Education. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 52(8):755–756, (Editorial), 2020. |
Koch PA, Wolf RL, Trent RJ, Guerra LA. School Transformation After Redesign of 3 Cafeterias (STARCafé). Health Behavior and Policy Review, 7(4):345–357. 2020. doi:https://doi.org/10.14485/HBPR.7.4.7. |
Valley W, Anderson M, Blackstone NT, Sterling E, Bentley E, Akabas S, Koch P, Dring C, Burke J. Spiller K. Towards an equity competency model for sustainable food systems education programs. Elementa Science of the Anthropocene, 8(1):33, 2020. doi: http://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.428. |
Aktaz N, Contento IR, Osman G, Koch PA. Classroom Teachers’ Attitudes to Nutrition Education and the School Food Environment: An Online Survey in Turkey. Journal of Health, Medicine and Nursing, 75:71–78, 2020. doi: 10.7176/JHMN/75-10. |
Fredericks L. Koch PA, Lui A, Galitzdofter L, Costa A, Utter J. Experiential Features of Culinary Nutrition Education that Drive Behavior Change: Frameworks for Research and Practice. Health Promotion Practice. Published online February 3, 2020. |
Khorana P, Koch PA, Trent R, Gray HL, Wolf RL, and Contento IR. The Effects of Wellness In The Schools (WITS) on Physical Activity During Recess in New York City Public Schools. Physical Activity and Health, 3(1):117–126, 2019. |
Sutter C, Metcalfe JJ, Tucker L, Lohmann DK, Koch PA, Allegrante JP, DeSorbo-Quinn A. Defining Food Education Standards through Consensus: The Pilot Light Food Education Summit. Journal of School Health; Published online October 14, 2019. doi: 10.1111/josh.12841. |
Koch P. 2020 Conference Theme: What Food Future? Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 51(8):917 (Editorial), 2019. |
Luesse HB, Koch PA, Contento IR Applying the Nutrition Education DESIGN Procedure to the Development of the In Defense of Food Curriculum. Health Education Journal, 78:824–838, 2019. doi.org/10.1177/0017896919850597. |
Koch PA, Contento IR, Gray HL, Burgermaster M, Bandelli L, Abrams E, Di Noia J. Food, Health, & Choices: Curriculum and Wellness Interventions to Decrease Childhood Obesity in Fifth-Graders. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 51:440−455, 2019. doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2018.12.001 [Runner up for best article of the year] |
Lumsden C, Wolf R, Contento I Basch C, Zybert P, Koch P, & Edelstein B. Feasibility, Acceptability, and Short-term Behavioral Impact of the MySmileBuddy Intervention for Early Childhood Caries. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 30:59-69, 2019. doi:10.1353/hpu.2019.0007. |
Graziose MM, Koch PA, Wolf R, Gray HL, Trent R, Contento IR. Cafeteria noise exposure and fruit and vegetable consumption at school lunch: A cross-sectional study of elementary students. Appetite. 136:130-136, 2019. doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2019.01.026. |
Dunn CG, Burgermaster M, Adams A, Koch P, Adintori PA, Stage VC. A Systematic Review and Content Analysis of Classroom Teacher Professional Development in Nutrition Education Programs. Advances in Nutrition,10(2):351-359, 2019. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmy075. |
Luesse HB, Luesse JE, Lawson J, Koch PA, & Contento IR. In Defense of Food Curriculum: A Mixed Methods Outcome Evaluation in Afterschool. Health Education & Behavior. Published online March 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198119831750. |
Ang IYH, Wolf RL, Koch PA, Gray HL, Trent R, Tipton E, Contento IR. School Lunch Environmental Factors Impacting Fruit and Vegetable Consumption. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 51:68-79. 2019. doi: 10.1016/j.jneb.2018.08.012. [open access]. |
Shi Z, Richardson JM, Aycinena AC, Gray HL, Paul R., Koch, P., Contento, I., Gaffney, A.O., & Greenlee, H. Psychosocial mediators of dietary change among Hispanic/Latina breast cancer survivors in a culturally-tailored dietary intervention. Psycho Oncology, 27(9): 2220-2228, 2018. |
Álvarez-Sánchez C, Contento I, Jiménez-Aguilar A, Koch P, Gray HL, Guerra LA, Rivera-Dommarco J, Uribe-Carvajal R, Shamah-Levy T. Does the Mexican sugar-sweetened beverage tax have a signaling effect? ENSANUT 2016. PLOSOne. Aug 22;13(8):e0199337, 2018. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0199337 [open access]. |
Graziose MM, Wolf RL, Koch P, Gray HL, Contento IR. Validation of a Questionnaire to Measure Fruits and Vegetables Selected and Consumed at School Lunch among Second- and Third-Grade Students. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 118:1700-1710.2018. e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2018.02.023. |
Luesse HB, Paul R, Gray HL, Koch P, Contento I, Marsink V. Challenges and Facilitators to Promoting a Healthy Food Environment and Communicating Effectively with Parents to Improve Food Behaviors of School Children. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 22(7):958-967. doi: 10.1007/s10995-018-2472-7, 2018. doi.org/10.1007/s10995-018-2472-7. |
Burgermaster M, Contento I, Koch P, Mamkina L. Behavior change is not one size fits all: psychosocial phenotypes of childhood obesity prevention intervention participants. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 8:799-807, 2018. doi: 10.1093/tbm/ibx029. |
Porter K, Koch P, Contento I. Why and How Schools Make Nutrition Education Programs “Work”. Journal of School Health. 88:23-33, 2018. |
Biographical Information
Pam Koch works at the intersection of sustainable food systems and nutrition education. She has written, evaluated, and conducted professional development for several curricula including: the Linking Food and the Environment (LiFE) curriculum series: Growing Food; Farm to Table & Beyond, and Choice, Control & Change; Food Day School Curriculum; In Defense of Food Curriculum; Art & Healthy Living with Studio in a School, and Seed to Plate with GrownNYC. Pam was part of the team who developed the Garden Resource Education and Environment Nexus (GREEN) Tool to create school gardens that are well-integrated into the curriculum and culture. She has led several evaluations including Edible Schoolyard NYC, FoodCorps, Wellness in the Schools, and New York City Food & Fitness Partnership. She is part of the School Food Focus team who is developing Recipes for Food System Change, professional development modules for school food service to procure more sustainable, regional, whole, and healthful foods. Pam contributed to Dr. Isobel’s Contento’s DESIGN Procedure for Nutrition Education. She is on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior and the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Board of Directors (2014–2017). Pam is part of the Environmental and Sustainable Education working group at Teachers College, is an organizer for the Food & Farm Justice Hub of the 2014 and 2017 People’s Climate March, and has been a member of Roxbury Farm CSA for over 20 years. Pam brings passion, dedication, and her flare for graphic design to all she does.
Active Professional Organizations
Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (President 2020-2021)
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Agriculture, Food, and Human Values
New York City Nutrition Education Network