The document provides an evaluation of the Drop the Pop Challenge program in Manitoba schools from 2015 to 2016. The evaluation was conducted by three graduate students and aimed to assess the impact of the program, which encourages children to reduce consumption of sugary drinks for one week. Key findings of the evaluation include: - The Drop the Pop Challenge reached at least 2,436 children in Manitoba in March 2016. - The program has a significant impact on participating children in raising awareness of how sugary drinks affect health and encouraging healthier choices. - The evaluation utilized various approaches, including a literature review on Indigenous health issues, program theory, logic models, and collecting data through school reports, teacher evaluations, and focus groups to analyze

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An Indigenous Program Evaluation of the
Drop the Pop Challenge in Manitoba
Schools from 2015 to 2016
Written by Anna Huard, Paige Sillaby, and Leah McDonnell
Edited by Melanie Ferris
April 2016

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Contents
......................................................................................................................................................... 1
Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................... 2
Evaluation Team Biographies......................................................................................................... 3
Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 4
Executive Summary........................................................................................................................ 4
Literature Review............................................................................................................................ 4
Program Overview.......................................................................................................................... 6
Evaluation Questions ...................................................................................................................... 9
Evaluation approaches .................................................................................................................. 10
Program Theory ............................................................................................................................ 11
Logic Model: A Tool for Program Planning and Delivery........................................................... 13
Methodology................................................................................................................................. 15
Analysis of Evaluation Data ......................................................................................................... 17
Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................................................................. 19
References..................................................................................................................................... 21
Acknowledgements
Our team of program evaluators wishes to acknowledge Dr. Linda DeRiviere from the University
of Winnipeg for her teaching and guidance on the topic of evaluating programs.
We also acknowledge Manitoba schools North Memorial in Portage la Prairie and Roseau Valley
School in Dominion City for welcoming us into their spaces to conduct focus groups with their
teachers and other school staff.
The evaluators thank the countless Elders and traditional teachers who have passed on their
cultural knowledge and wisdom to help us conduct our work in a grounded way that respects the
wisdom of Indigenous peoples.
Lastly, we are thankful to CN Rail for funding the Drop the Pop Challenges in Manitoba.
Without program funding, this evaluation would not be possible.

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Evaluation Team Biographies
Melanie Ferris is a proud Ojibway/Cree/Sioux woman who is a member of the Long Plain First
Nation. She pursued her undergraduate and graduate studies in English Literature and Women’s
Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa. She spent most of her adult years working in Ottawa
and Toronto, where she worked in national Aboriginal health organizations, provincial health
charities, as well as the federal government. Melanie is an avid researcher of Aboriginal health
and cultural teachings, and is published in international academic journals. She has authored and
edited numerous books on First Nations health and culture; her most recent book is Supporting
the Sacred Journey: From Preconception to Parenting for First. Nations Families. In 2012,
Melanie was appointed as an expert advisor to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care in
Ontario. She is a proud mom to one child.
Anna Huard is a graduate student at the University of Winnipeg in the Masters of Development
Practice program, with a focus on Indigenous Development. She was born and raised in
Winnipeg. Her family is from Couchiching First Nation. She studies language and cultural
revitalization, as well as policy analysis toward reintegrating traditional perspectives into
contemporary discourses. Anna works as a research assistant with Dr. Angela Failler on a project
involving Shoal Lake 40 First Nation’s Museum of Canadian Human Rights Violations. She
aspires to work in securing Indigenous languages to re-establish First Nations identity.
Leah McDonnell is from Toronto, ON and currently lives in Winnipeg, where she attends the
University of Winnipeg for the Master’s in Development Practices: Indigenous Development.
She has traveled the world and worked in different countries, most recently in Israel working
with asylum seekers from Africa. Her main academic interests are in regards to human
trafficking in Canada, the integration of Traditional Knowledge into Western academic systems
using anti-oppressive and decolonized theory, and researching topics in regards to Missing and
Murdered Indigenous Men and Women (boys and girls). Leah has a background in international
development, politics, and communications and currently works for Manitoba First Nations
Centre for Aboriginal Health Research (MFN CAHR) through the University of Manitoba as a
research assistant.
Paige Sillaby is a proud Anishinaabe kwe from the Chippewas of Georgina Island, Otter clan.
She was raised on Dokis First Nation, a small community in northern Ontario, Canada. In 2015,
Paige received her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies with a minor in Psychology at
Wilfrid Laurier University. Currently, she is working towards a Masters of Developmental
Practice (MDP) with and Indigenous focus on development at the University of Winnipeg. Paige
is actively involved and identifies with her Aboriginal heritage. She has worked at varies student
and community agencies including the Wilfrid Laurier University Aboriginal Student Centre,
Council of Ontario Universities (COU), Canadian Roots Exchange and the Wii Chiiwaakanak
Learning Centre. From 2014-2015 she served as President of Laurier’s Aboriginal Students’
Association. When she is not studying, Paige enjoys visiting family, Netflix and attending
ceremonies. In her future career, Paige aspires to continue her work supporting Aboriginal
student initiatives in education.

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Introduction
This program evaluation, using an Indigenous perspective, was developed by three graduate
students from the Master’s in Development Practice, Indigenous Development Program at the
University of Winnipeg. It was developed from January to April 2016. The three students
received guidance and worked closely with Melanie Ferris, who manages the Drop the Pop
Challenge on behalf of the Kidney Foundation of Canada – Manitoba Branch (referred to as “the
Foundation” in this paper).
This paper outlines how we executed the program evaluation and also provides an analysis of the
data we collected. We found that the Drop the Pop Challenges have a significant impact on
Manitoba children, as well as their schools, families, and communities.
Executive Summary
 The Drop the Pop Challenge lasts approximately a week long, where consumption of pop
and other sugary drinks is discouraged and teachers implement lesson plans that have
been designed by the Foundation.
 Once the challenge has been completed, participating schools submit a short written
report about their school’s activities, teacher evaluations of the program, as well as five
photos from the challenge.
 The Drop the Pop program has a significant impact on participating children and has
room to grow.
 The Drop the Pop Challenge reached at least 2,436 children and youth in Manitoba in
March 2016.
Literature Review
To determine the relevance and rationale of the Drop the Pop program, a brief literature review
was conducted on issues impacting Indigenous peoples’ health in Canada. Key findings are: the
impacts that colonization have on the social determinants of health for Indigenous peoples; high
rates and susceptibility to diet-related diseases amongst Indigenous peoples; and the severe
issues with food security experienced by Indigenous communities. Outlined below are the
findings:
The social determinants of health for Indigenous Peoples in Canada
The colonization of Indigenous people in Canada has created and continues to impose ongoing
stigmatization, marginalization, and oppression (Native Women’s Association of Canada, 2010).
Outcomes of colonization create definitive factors in maintaining economic, social, and political
barriers for Indigenous peoples (Kingsley & Mark, 2001). Barriers created by colonization
include poverty, racial stigmatization, and violence within Indigenous communities. These
barriers negatively impact Indigenous peoples and their social determinants of health.

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Social determinants of health are the social and economic realities or conditions that impact the
health and well-being of peoples1
(Mikkonen & Raphael, 2014). Overall, Indigenous people have
poorer health and well-being outcomes compared to non-Indigenous peoples in Canada,
indicating substantial inequities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians (Statistics
Canada, 2015).
Indigenous People and health topics, locally and globally
Around the world, Indigenous communities have been, and currently are, experiencing a global
epidemic of developing diabetes and remain disproportionately impacted by Type 2 diabetes
(Naqshbandi et al, 2008). This alarming trend has been on the rise for the past few decades—a
rapid change in lifestyle contributed to this (Young, Reading, Elias, 2000). The rapid change in
lifestyle can be traced to the onset of colonization and the forceful removal of the traditional
Indigenous cultures and subsequent forced assimilation in the dominant society (Gracey, & King,
2009).
More disturbing is the increase of Type 2 diabetes in Indigenous children in Canada, as Type 2
diabetes is most typically found in adults and not children (Young, Reading, Elias, 2000).
Overall, the prevalence rates for diabetes range to be over three times as high (17%) for First
Nations people who live on reserve and twice as high for First Nations peoples who live off
reserve, when compared to non-Indigenous Canadians (PHAC, 2011).
In Manitoba, 12.45 out of 100,000 children have Type 2 diabetes (Amed et al, 2010). The
Diabetes Integration Project found that 54 of 64 First Nations communities in Manitoba have a
child with Type 2 diabetes (2014). When children are found to have Type 2 diabetes, they must
be flown/moved from their community to visit a pediatric diabetes clinic in Winnipeg for a full
assessment and education.
Although diabetes is a prevalent issue for Indigenous communities in Canada and across the
globe, issues of obesity, kidney-related illnesses, and tooth decay are alarmingly present in
Canadian First Nations communities. While there are many contributing factors to these various
conditions, it is noted that the consumption of sugary foods and beverages has a direct
correlation with increasing rates of these illnesses (DHSSGN 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009; PHD
2007, 2008 & 2009).
In Manitoba, Dr. Alison Dart, a pediatric kidney doctor, found that 2.4 percent of our province’s
children have chronic kidney disease (CKD) compared to only 1.5 percent of children having
CKD at a national level. She says Manitoba has the highest percentage of children with CKD in
all of Canada. Dr. Dart found that 43 children in Manitoba were either on dialysis or had
received a kidney transplant (2014).
1
More specifically, there are 14 identified health determinants of health: income and income distribution, education,
unemployment and job security, employment and working conditions, early childhood development, food insecurity,
housing, social exclusion, social safety network, health services, Aboriginal status, gender, race and disability
(Mikkonen, & Raphael, 2014).

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Food security in Indigenous communities
As mentioned previously, many people are aware that the overconsumption of sugary, sweetened
drinks (such as pop and juice) increases the risks of developing Type 2 diabetes, kidney-related
diseases, obesity, and tooth decay. As such, diet and access to healthy foods becomes even more
important when considering risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes and other diet-related
diseases in Indigenous communities (Apovian, 2004; DHSSGN 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009; PHD
2007, 2008 & 2009).
Issues of food security plague Indigenous communities throughout Canada and substantially
increase the risk of Indigenous peoples developing chronic diseases (Power, 2008). In their
study, Paul Fieldhouse and Shirley Thompson found that “while there appears to be a growing
interest in local food production and the reintroduction of traditional foods to the diet, an
important key to successful change is the engagement of youth, whose food habits and
preferences have been heavily influenced by mainstream commercial food culture” (2012).
Given the challenges with accessing healthy, affordable food along with the move away from a
traditional lifestyle, it is understandable that Indigenous Canadians, especially those who live on
reserve or in remote communities, are vulnerable to developing Type 2 diabetes. In response,
Health Canada and other civil society actors have—and continue to—implement programming to
combat diet-related diseases borne disproportionately in Indigenous Canadians.
Program Overview
What is Drop the Pop?
In many of Canada’s northern communities, there are concerns about the high consumption rate
of pop and other sugary drinks. Unhealthy lifestyle choices have led to increasing rates of
obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and tooth decay amongst children and adolescents. To address this
concern, a program called the Drop the Pop Challenge was implemented in Nunavut in 2003-
2004 for students in kindergarten to grade 12. According to the Drop the Pop website, this
project “is an annual health promotion campaign designed to increase students’ awareness of
how sugary drinks affect their health, and to encourage students and their families to drink/eat
healthier beverages and foods and make healthy lifestyle choices” (2013). In Nunavut, students
compete for and earn prizes by abstaining from sugary drinks for an entire school week. They do
this as part of an educational campaign about the long- and short-term health impacts of
consuming too much sugar.
In 2010, the Manitoba Branch of the Kidney Foundation of Canada adapted the Drop the Pop
Challenge to promote healthy dietary choices amongst Indigenous children (First Nation, Inuit,
and Metis) in Canada.
Our evaluation focuses solely on the Drop the Pop Challenge in our province, Manitoba, looking
at outcomes from schools taking part in the program in 2015 and 2016.

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What makes Drop the Pop unique?
When the project was first implemented in Nunavut, it
“involved 14 schools and the number of participating
schools grew year over year” (Drop the Pop website). The
Drop the Pop campaign is adapted to the needs of the
region according to differences in community-based
partnerships and funding. Funding generally comes from
the Canadian government, non-governmental organizations,
and charitable organizations. Funding covers promotional
activities, school awards, and activities within the
classroom. Community partnerships may contribute fresh
food, drinks, and store coupons.
According to the Drop the Pop website, “the Childhood
Obesity Foundation has proposed that the success of the
Drop the Pop program is due to its flexible and evolutionary
approach. It responds to needs that are identified at the
school level and reflects the innovations and ideas of
teachers, schools, and communities” (2013). It is
evolutionary in that it considers the physical health of
community member, but also incorporates why First
Nations customs are beneficial to emotional and spiritual
health. Finally, the program also takes the needs of the
environment into consideration by encouraging the
community to recycle and reuse.
The Drop the Pop Challenge in Manitoba is unique because
it links high rates of diabetes and obesity with CKD. Many
Manitobans are not aware of their risks for CKD, although
our province has the highest rate of end-stage kidney
disease in all of Canada (Chartier et al, 2015).
CKD has no cure, and the only treatments are time-
consuming dialysis treatments or a kidney transplant. These
treatments are challenging for anyone, but especially for
people living in remote and northern communities, as there
may be no access to a dialysis centre—relocation to an
urban centre may need to happen if a person wants to
access life-saving treatment.
Manitoba has the lowest rates of organ donations amongst
all of Canada; the wait for a kidney transplant from a
deceased donor is at least five years (Kidney Foundation of
Canada, 2012).
Manitoba youth share
thoughts on the Drop the
Pop Challenge
A class of 39 students in grade 7 took
part in the challenge in March 2016.
Students completed evaluations sharing
thoughts in response to the challenge.
Eight of their responses show that
young people see the effects of chronic
disease all around them:
 “My mom and dad have to take pills
for meds and for food.”
 “My dad is affected by diabetes and
he goes for dialysis three times a
week.”
 “My dad has diabetes + three
problems are: 1. Gets mad real easy;
2. Takes needles every day; 3.
Sleeps a lot.”
 “My grandma has Diabetes. It
effects (sic) her life because she
takes needles. And she goes to the
doctors regularly.”
 “My kunshi has diabities (sic) and
she has to check her blood sugar
levels every day she cannot eat
anything sweet.”
 “My auntie has diabetes and it
affects her life because she can
never do anything fun because she
is in a wheel chair and she rarely
comes to our family meals at my
grandpa’s because she has to go to
dialasis (sic).”
 “Makes me sad to see my grandma
she takes needle and checked her
blood and get her eye checked.”
 “One of my teachers has diabetes
and how it effects (sic) her life? She
has to take insulin needles for it she
can’t drink, eat junk food or drink
pop of any kind.”

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The statistics around Indigenous health in Manitoba are alarming and depressing. The Drop the
Pop Challenge in Manitoba aims to be culturally appropriate and empowering by addressing
these issues amongst Indigenous children and their families in a fun and strength-based way.
Children are eligible for prizes if they make an effort to take part in the challenge, and many
schools also provide access to healthy “treats” such as milk, fresh produce, and smoothies as part
of their learning process. The challenge aims to help them to be proud of their culture and
Indigenous identity while understanding that Type 2 diabetes is a leading cause of CKD, and is
preventable through healthy lifestyle choices. Many Indigenous children are surrounded by
family members living with Type 2 diabetes, so the challenge aims to help them learn that
making healthier lifestyle choices may lessen their risk for chronic diseases.
Similar interventions to the Drop the Pop Program
As outlined in the literature review, nutrition-related diseases are a prevalent issue in Indigenous
populations in Canada. Several programs have targeted interventions that are aimed at youth and
parents, focusing on encouraging a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Health Canada committed over $275 million between 2010-2015 for programming that targets
health promotion and awareness of diabetes among Indigenous Canadians (Health Canada,
2011). Canadian Feed the Children has a multi-pronged approach that targets Indigenous youth
through schools and community centres and provides: nutritional education classes, Indigenous-
focused nutrition, after-school food programs, community gardens, and in-school nutrition
education (Canadian Feed the Children, 2015).
Most relevant in this case is the Drop the Pop Challenge initiated in Nunavut in 2003 and now
subsequently run through all three territories (Nunavut, Yukon, and Northwest Territories). The
northern Drop the Pop Challenge encompasses the same idea as the Manitoba-based challenge—
it initiates school-based challenges that encourage youth to not drink sugar-filled drinks for a
specific period of time. This challenge also increases the capacity of teachers to educate children
on nutritional information and healthy lifestyle choices (Government of NWT, n.d.; Glacken,
2011).
Successes, challenges, and lessons learned
The successes for similar interventions, especially the Drop the Pop Challenges in the territories,
have yielded a growing number of participants per challenge and individuals who have a higher
level of understanding of nutrition, healthy choices, nutrition-related diseases, and prevention.
Factors that are attributed to this success are strong organization, incentive-based challenges,
awareness, and advocacy surrounding nutritional topics and healthy lifestyle choices (Glacken,
2011; Canadian Feed the Children, 2015).
Challenges faced by similar programs include issues such as other commitments that faculty/staff
and students had made during the same time. Another challenge is the lack of interest or
engagement from parents and students, and a lack of interest from the schools or community
centres to host the challenge (Glacken, 2011).

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Lessons learned from the project include recommendations to run the challenges in conjunction
with other health initiatives brought in from the school, community centres, or other bodies.
Another lesson learned, or best practice, is to have support from the school and staff members of
the school that help to facilitate the program. This also means giving the teacher’s information
regarding the program far ahead of the challenge so they can prepare well in advance for their
class-implemented activities, giving the students a take-home letter explaining to the parents
what the challenge was about and having organizational support from the Drop the Pop
organizers (Glacken, 2011).
Evaluation Questions
The overall purpose of our evaluation project is to review the implementation and immediate
outcomes of the Drop the Pop Challenge in Manitoba. The findings in this report will be used as
a guideline to improve the challenge. The following questions informed the direction of our Drop
the Pop evaluation:
1. To determine how many children participate in the Drop the Pop Challenge.
Does the challenge decrease consumption of sugary drinks for a week (or time set by
schools)?
2. To determine the extent of support provided to schools that take part in the Drop the Pop
Challenge.
Does the Foundation provide support for the successful implementation of the Drop the
Pop Challenge to the various schools in Manitoba? In which ways do they provide
support?
3. To assess awareness among parents and teachers about the dangers of sugary drinks at the
end of Drop the Pop Challenge.
Does the challenge help stakeholders to become aware of the harmful effects of sugars,
and promote alternatives to sugary drinks?
4. To identify factors that facilitated and inhibited the implementation of the project in order
to determine ‘promising practices.’
What works and does not work when implementing the challenge in schools?
5. To determine the level of awareness of children of the benefits of healthy eating and
lifestyle choices.
Does the program educate children about healthy eating? If so, how?
6. To determine changes in the awareness, knowledge, and behaviours of key school-based
stakeholders including teachers, administrators, school boards, and Chief/Councillors
concerning healthy eating and lifestyle choices.
7. To evaluate the extent to which the overall goal of Drop the Pop was met.
8. To determine whether schools used culturally-relevant approaches to teaching Indigenous
students about health.
How many schools use cultural practices, ceremonies, or resources to help children learn
more about how their culture(s) can help them maintain their health? How many
children/families felt more empowered or proud about their cultural identity after the
challenge happened?
9. To identify unanticipated outcomes of the Drop the Pop Challenge.

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Evaluation approaches
Research design
The research design of our Drop the Pop evaluation uses a decolonized approach to gather,
interpret, and analyze data. This approach uses aspects of ceremony and First Nations’
ontologies to conduct culturally relevant data gathering (Scott, 2009; Smith, 1999; Wilson,
2008). The evaluation design is guided by First Nations’ epistemologies, which is reflected in the
evaluation’s logic model design as a Medicine Wheel. The basic theory behind Drop the Pop
Challenge is based on creating a positive behavioural change through education-based
programming.
The theory behind the program is guided by the literature review and general observations made
in regards to education-based programming and intended outcomes. It aims to provide evidence
of the efficacy of education-based programming for Drop the Pop and does not aim to provide an
“absolute truth” of education-based programming always being effective (Birks and Mills, 2011,
p 212).
The Drop the Pop Challenge engages students in a fun way, asking them to undertake a change
in their diets for a full week, while simultaneously supporting the children with lesson plans,
incentives (such as prizes), and culturally relevant materials, among other things.
The evaluation methods utilized for our report are divided into the Ownership, Control, Access,
Possession/Self-Determination (OCAP/S) principles, multiple perspectives, and methodologies
(qualitative and quantitative methods). The principles are outlined below.
Ownership, control, access, and possession/Self-determination (OCAP/S)
In Canada, it is important to use Indigenous research principles when conducting research with
Indigenous communities. Our Drop the Pop evaluation uses the OCAP/S principles through the
research aspects of the program. This means that the schools we work with get to have
ownership and control over the data we collected. For example, when conducting our focus
groups, we were sure to explain to participants that we would share our transcripts with them and
provide them with the opportunity to edit and approve them before using them as part of our
evaluation project. The schools also “own” the evaluations completed by their students, but
allow us to use the information to inform our evaluation project.
While the Drop the Pop Challenge has documentation available for dissemination regarding
health impacts on Indigenous communities, this evaluation of the Drop the Pop Challenge is
meant to be a useful guide for the overall challenge to help direct the Foundation’s
implementation of the program and to reflect the wants and needs of participants for the future.

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Program Theory
Program theory examines the linkages between activities and outcomes within a program and the
underlying theory, which drives the program. In the case of the Drop the Pop Challenge, the
program theory is guided by an impetus for a behavioural change delivered through health and
nutrition-related education. Therefore, the underlying program theory of the Drop the Pop
Challenge is that if children (in kindergarten through grade six) participate in the week-long
challenge, it will contribute to a small decrease in the consumption of pop and other sugary
drinks and overall awareness about the dangers of too much sugar on a person’s body. Drop the
Pop is using the working theory that if we provide the support for children to reduce their intake
of sugary beverages for one school week, then children will have the tools and knowledge to
make healthier choices in regards to their health and well-being. The program is hoping for
healthy behaviour to continue following the one-week challenge.
The challenge requires participants to eliminate sugary drinks from their diet for five consecutive
days, which contributes to a short-term decrease of sugar intake. The challenge also provides
educational material throughout the week, in which children are made aware the harmful effects
of sugary drinks. Teachers receive a resource book called Drop the Pop: Lessons Plans and
Activities for Teachers.
The lesson plans are available as a hard copy book as well as a PDF file. They include “cultural
teachings from various First Nations... research shows that including culture in education often
results in more successful learners” (Kidney Foundation of Canada, 2015).
In addition, the challenge creates a platform for students to learn about alternatives to pop, such
as water and milk, thus they are learning about making healthier nutrition choices. Overall the
program seeks to decrease the consumption of sugary drinks among Indigenous children in
Manitoba. The theory is that if sugary drinks are removed from a child for one week, then it will
decrease consumption short-term (at least), while also providing an opportunity for children,
parents, and teachers to be empowered to make the healthier food and drink choices.
Implementation theory
Implementation theory is about transforming inputs into activities and then outputs and
outcomes. It does not just look at outputs. The problem that this challenge is trying to address is
that Indigenous children in Manitoba are suffering from higher rates of chronic diseases
compared to non-Indigenous children in Manitoba.
Prevention programming looks at what factors can reduce a certain outcome before it becomes
an issue. In the case of diabetes and CKD in Indigenous children and their communities, the
challenge addresses a need to educate and reduce risk factors that contribute to diabetes and
CKD, such as the overconsumption of sugar.

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The inputs that the Drop the Pop Challenge utilizes for programs include: grant funding,
applications from schools across Manitoba, awarded grants for $250, videos about chronic
diseases, curriculum for teachers, a resource website, Elders and community health
workers/educators to deliver nutrition-related and culturally-relevant messages, social media,
traditional media, and volunteers. These inputs contribute to program activities. For example, the
grants are being used by the schools to cover a variety of program costs including: healthy food
options for the week, participant awards, and additional resources that promote health education.
If the Foundation did not provide grants, then schools would not have the funds available to
provide healthy alternatives to pop and other sugary drinks during the program. Therefore,
having funds to buy healthy snacks for children, then having students consume food, leads to the
program’s goal of promoting health education through food choices (outcome).
Drop the Pop Challenge program description
The Drop the Pop Challenge has various stages of implementation prior to the challenge. The
program is run by the Foundation of Canada, managed by the Kidney Health and
Communications Manager. The program is funded through grants, with the main source of
funding coming from CN Rail.
Once funding is secured, the Foundation develops and executes a media strategy. It develops and
shares a media release to all Manitoba media outlets. Those outlets can do interviews with
Foundation staff or simply copy, paste, and adapt the information from the media release about
the opportunity.
The Foundation also advertises the grant opportunity by sending emails to all Manitoba school
boards and Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative workers, faxing applications and information sheets to
all First Nation communities, and sending out emails via various list serves that are targeted to
Indigenous audiences. The Foundation also alerts schools that have done the challenge in the
past that the grants are being made available once again.
Once the announcement is made public, schools/administrators have about four weeks to apply
for the grant. The schools complete a simple 1-page application form (see Appendix) that gives
information on their plans for a Drop the Pop Challenge. The Foundation invites applications to
come from any Manitoba elementary schools that have at least 50% Indigenous student
population. The program distributes funding to schools to do the program twice a year, in March
(Kidney Health Month) and November (Diabetes Awareness Month). The number of schools
that receive grants depends on how much funding is available. The amount of money distributed
to schools is $250 each.
Schools are selected based on their plans—they must do the challenge for five days and should
provide some kind of plan on what they will do for their students. They also are more likely to
receive the grant if they plan to include any culturally relevant activities during the challenge.
One volunteer (usually a retired dietitian or social worker) scores each application sheet, and so
does the Kidney Health and Communications Manager. The scores are combined and top-rated
applications are selected to receive the grants.

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Selected schools must sign a simple, one-page agreement before they receive the grant funding.
It says they will provide a quote for a media announcement, at least five photos from their
challenge, and a short report about what happened during their challenge. Once they have signed
and returned the agreement, they receive a cheque for $250 as well as teaching resources to help
them implement the challenge over the course of five days.
Schools are provided with ideas on how they can implement their own challenge. The schools
are able to use the $250 grant money in whichever way they wish, as long as it promotes healthy
lifestyles in some way. Schools are not required to provide receipts to the Foundation to account
for their expenditures. Some schools ask the Foundation to provide a presenter for their students.
Once the challenge is complete, the schools have a few weeks to report on their challenges and
provide five photos from the challenge. They send this information to the Kidney Health and
Communications Manager from the Foundation. Schools must submit a report in order to be
eligible for future funding.
Now that the description of the program has been provided, it is important to understand how the
logic model of the Drop the Pop Challenge flows. As such, the next section outlines and explains
the logic model used to guide the Drop the Pop Challenge.
Logic Model: A Tool for Program Planning and Delivery
The purpose of the logic model is to help program managers from all fields of work to clearly
understand the logistics of the program under analysis. See the appendix Figure 1.0, for the Drop
the Pop mainstream logic model, which is designed to help community members, project
managers, stakeholders, and evaluators; thus, “the Logic Model is the basis for a convincing
story of the programs expected performance” (McLaughlin & Jordon, 1999). Although this logic
model shows single relationships between the project features, it is important to mention that all
elements influence the other, which also shows that there are no hierarchies of features.
In other words, one feature is of no more significance than another. The mainstream model uses
a basic flowchart to indicate the logical connections between the resources that lead to the
programs various activities, which lead to the determined outputs, which help to determine the
impact (participants reached) and outcomes (short, intermediary, and long-term). The specific
relationships between the aspects of the logic model are outlined in greater detail in the
alternative logic model description.
In keeping with the wisdom and traditional knowledge of the First Nations communities, as well
as our own knowledge and identities as First Nations people and respect for First Nations
identities and knowledge as allies, our logic model (Appendix Figure 2) reflects the First Nations
Medicine Wheel. A Medicine Wheel is a circular symbol that shows that everything is connected
and related. Using a Medicine Wheel to evaluate a program ensures that we take a holistic
approach to understanding and assessing the Drop the Pop Challenge. The evaluation logic
model employs the Medicine Wheel as a guide for understanding how the Drop the Pop
Challenge is implemented.

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Children are at the centre of the Medicine Wheel. We put them in the middle because the
challenge specifically targets children. Traditional teachings in First Nations culture tell us that
all children are sacred and the most important part of our communities as they are closest to the
Creator. Traditional knowledge teaches us to create a good life for all children in our
communities. Putting children at the centre and using this Medicine Wheel as a visual to help us
carry out our evaluation of the program reminds us to look at the program through our
Indigenous lens. By doing so, this framework encourages the celebration and inclusion of
cultural practices, ceremonies, teachings, and knowledge.
Outside of the wheel are the formal resources that are needed to implement the Drop the Pop
Challenge. These include media, volunteers, and office resources (eg; fax machine, computers,
phone, email, etc.).
The white quadrant of the wheel is dedicated to the mind and making mindful decisions. As
such, the model uses this for the initial description of what resources are needed/how the project
will get off the ground. Resources in this area include the manager for the program, funding,
prizes, as well as curriculum.
The black quadrant of the wheel looks at the body and actions taken, thus is used to guide the
specific activities created by Drop the Pop. Activities include making the grants public, grading
the applications, notifying selected schools, and providing curriculum and other resources to the
schools.
The red quadrant of the wheel looks at emotions and reactions. In this section we list the outputs,
as they are types of reactions from activities and inputs. These include how many children are
taking part in the challenge in Manitoba schools, lessons delivered to children, prizes or healthy
snacks that children received as part of their challenge, and any other outputs that are the result
of the $250 grant (for example, some schools have used the funds to help pay for physical
activity outings, camps on the land, teachings from Elders, etc).
The yellow quadrant of the wheel focuses on the connections between spirit and values and
guides the challenge for its outcomes. These include: children that know how to make healthier
choices by reading food labels and knowing how much sugar they should have each day;
children learning about the negative effects of sugary drinks on a person’s health and what that
can mean (i.e. diabetes, kidney issues); families that understand the need to support their children
in making health lifestyle choices overall—including what they eat, drink, and how much
exercise they get; families also making health lifestyle choices at home after the challenge has
ended in what they eat and drink at home and what they provide for their children to eat and
drink; teachers being able to act as role models in regards to health and nutrition, including
healthy living education into normal curriculum; and schools having more resources and
encouragement to support healthy lifestyle choices, specifically encouraging students to reduce
their sugar intake (both in liquids and foods).

15. 15
To the right of the yellow quadrant, the logic model delves into a greater exploration of the
overall community benefits from this program. We have chosen to display these using the
diagram of a ripple in the water. This visual describes how the challenge starts off small, as a
ripple does, but grows.
The overall benefits for the Drop the Pop Challenge include encouraging healthy and happier
communities and culturally relevant programming implemented through the Drop the Pop
Challenge.
Methodology
Multiple perspective data collection
Data collection methods involve gathering information from stakeholders and beneficiaries who
deliver the program (teachers, guidance counselors, principals, etc.) and beneficiaries of the
program (students, family members, etc.). Although the evaluation team is unable to work
directly with children, as per the legal regulations in Manitoba2
, we developed a survey for
children and youth to enable us to gather feedback from them, with help from the teachers of the
involved schools (discussed further below).
Methodology
With a mixed methodology approach, the team conducted qualitative and quantitative research,
using a triangulated approach, with teachers who implement the program and other adults who
function in a support manner (i.e. guidance counselors, educational assistants, and principals).
The specific methods of data collection are divided into two categories and explained in detail
below.
Quantitative methods
Quantitative data collection methods for this project include:
1. Pre and post tests to determine what was learned before and after the week-long
challenge:
a. Questionnaires designed to discover what teachers, students, and other support
workers know about the impacts of sugary drinks on their overall health, both
before and after the challenge.
2. Survey questionnaires regarding the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the program:
a. Basic survey questions designed to gather ordinal data in regards to the overall
effectiveness of the program according to participants (specifically those who
implemented the program).
2
Note that we would be able to work directly with children (minors) if we had more time to work on this evaluation
project, as we would have been able to secure our child abuse registry checks.

16. 16
Qualitative methods
Qualitative data collection methods for this project include:
1. Focus groups:
a. Using the guiding aspects of a focus group methodology, our team organized two
focus groups that concentrated on how the Drop the Pop Challenge
affects/impacts children and teachers.
2. Coding:
a. An assessment of data collected from schools that completed the Drop the Pop
Challenge in November/December 2015 was conducted; major themes are
identified and discussed in the analysis section.
3. Picture drawing (for children and youth):
a. Designed specifically for students,
some schools administered a colouring
sheet after the challenge took place; the
child or youth drew a picture to
represent their feelings about the Drop
the Pop Challenge and also had the
opportunity to name things they liked
and did not like about the challenge.
You can see an example of a child’s
drawing to your right.
b. The pictures themselves are not analyzed, instead the comments about what
participants liked and did not like were tallied and used to inform the final
analysis.
Limitations
The major limitation identified for the evaluation was timing—there was not enough time to
evaluate all schools that took part in the Drop the Pop Challenge. At the time of writing this
report, several schools were implementing the challenge. Another limitation was the remoteness
of some school locations; due to limited funding and time, it was not possible to visit these
schools to facilitate focus groups, although surveys and phone interviews were options.
In our two focus group sessions, there were limited numbers of participating teachers and other
implementers (such as principals and others) who identified as Indigenous. This creates a limited
perspective that is not inclusive of a strong or representative Indigenous voice(s).

17. 17
Although the evaluation team was very aware of Indigenous perspectives and tried to include an
Indigenous worldview and lens when working on the evaluation, larger research projects on this
topic with Indigenous teachers and other Indigenous school faculty would be beneficial.
Analysis of Evaluation Data
To reach a large scope of perspectives, our team analyzed data from the children’s surveys;
transcripts from our two focus groups; qualitative evaluations teachers and principals submitted;
and written narrative reports that teachers and principals submitted to us following their Drop the
Pop Challenges in November and December 2015. The full transcripts from our two focus
groups are included in the appendices (see appendices B).
We received feedback from the following Manitoba schools to help inform this evaluation:
1. Ashern Central School, Ashern
2. Chief Clifford Lynxleg Anishinabe School, Tootinaowaziibeeng First Nation
3. Duke of Marlborough School, Churchill
4. Fisher Branch Collegiate, Fisher Branch
5. Joe A. Ross School, Opaskwayak Cree Nation
6. Keeseekoowenin Elementary School, Keeseekoowenin First Nation
7. Langruth Elementary School, Langruth
8. Neil Dennis Kematch Memorial School, Sepetewayak Cree Nation
9. North Memorial School, Portage la Prairie
10. Peter Yassie Memorial School, Tadoule Lake
11. Roseau Valley School, Roseau Valley
12. Ruth Betts Community School, Flin Flon
13. Ruth Hooker School, Selkirk
14. Sioux Valley High School, Brandon
15. Walter Whyte School, Grand Marais
16. Waywayseecappo Community School, Waywayseecappo First Nation
The written reports submitted by schools in late 2015 were overwhelmingly positive. Teachers
stated that they enjoyed participating in the Drop the Pop Challenge and felt it was influencing
the behaviours of family members as well. A comment from our focus group at the North
Memorial School shares, “When one child was offered pop for dinner, they told their parents
they couldn’t have any because it was bad for them” (Ferris, Huard, and McDonnell, 2016).
Another comment from a report shared by the Chief Clifford Lynxleg Anishnabe School says,
“Some students even encouraged their parents at home to quit drinking pop for that week.”
While the students encourage their parents to stop drinking pop at home, teachers also expressed
concern that parents need to show support for their students. A comment from our focus group at
North Memorial School says, “Without the parents and guardians being open to learning about
sugary consumptions and making better choices, the health benefits will not be fully realized”
(Ferris, Huard, and McDonnell, 2016). This comment is reinforced by thoughts shared by
teachers who attended our focus group at the Roseau Valley School:

18. 18
Many students do not come with a prepared lunch and rely on inexpensive, processed
foods from the corner store during the lunch hour. Since students have limited funds,
many purchase the largest quantity of food for a lower price. This means that students
are often eating large bags of chips and bottles of pop because it is less costly than
nutritional foods. Due to the lack of choices in lunches for younger students, teachers feel
that many children are malnourished. (Ferris, Huard, McDonnell, and Sillaby, 2016).
This comment reflects what we found in our literature, that food security and poverty is an issue
for many Indigenous children in Manitoba. This is an issue that the Drop the Pop Challenge is
unable to address, but it is important to recognize that food security and poverty is an issue that
will continue to impact the health of Indigenous children in Manitoba if it is not addressed by
different levels of government.
Another finding from the data was that the Drop the Pop Challenge helps affect a change in
children’s behaviour on multiple levels. For example, students were reusing and recycling water
bottles, as well as consuming more alternative beverages to pop. Many students stopped bringing
pop and sugary drinks to school. “The amount of pop consumed in the school since the challenge
has declined significantly because anytime pop is brought to the school by students, we exchange
it for milk” (Waywayseecappo Community School). Teachers also reported on how beneficial it
was to have health professionals and dietitians speak about the dangers of kidney disease.
The evaluations from the majority of schools that participated in the Drop the Pop Challenge
were positive. Our data demonstrates that 51% of children who filled out the picture survey tool
had no, or very little, negative feedback on the entire program. The majority of negative
feedback from participants entailed being unable to drink pop, specifically, 32.5%. Furthermore,
44% pointed out they enjoyed the other activities that went along with the challenge; these
included everything from art projects to making smoothies. We also found that 14% of students
were unhappy with other students in the challenge whom were able to “cheat.” This is a common
concern for participating children, as they are expected to come to school and truthfully report to
their teachers whether they drank pop or sugary drinks the day before. Teachers mentioned that
children who resisted participating with the challenge were generally those who were the
“unhealthiest.”
The resources in the handbook, such as classroom activities, were very useful in how the
program was implemented. Not only were these activities educational but also incorporated a
cultural perspective to nourish a spiritual well-being. Indigenous practices, such as smudging,
round dancing, and teachings on traditional foods, helped expand the program to reach
community members—not just students and teachers at the community school.
Some of the unanticipated outcomes of the program were how connected recycling is with
Indigenous worldviews and nurturing Mother Earth. Finally, teachers noticed the importance of
having role models for younger children. Specifically, younger students responded exceptionally
well to older students teaching them about health choices.

19. 19
The results of the focus groups were similar to the 2015 report and gave positive feedback on the
program. A suggestion was made to include community businesses, such as corner and grocery
stores, in the challenge to help promote healthy choices. For example, by lowering the price of
milk and bottled water, students would be more apt to buy nutritious food since they would be
able to afford it with their lunch money. It was also suggested to expand the program to be
implemented many times during the school year and even using the same model to teach children
about the dangers of other unhealthy choices, such as salt or fat.
There is also a lack of awareness from the resources that the Foundation provides to support
schools who implement the Drop the Pop Challenge. For example, in some cases the Foundation
is able to arrange for guest speakers to tell students about the benefits of making healthy
choices—many schools are not aware that they can ask for this service.
The Foundation also offers teaching tools and prizes that the schools can use to enhance the
Drop the Pop Challenge. Teachers present in both of the focus groups at North Memorial School
and Roseau Valley School had little knowledge about what programs and supportive services the
Kidney Foundation can/does offer. Both focus groups agreed that more contact with a
representative from the Foundation would be helpful and increase the long-term success of the
Drop the Pop Challenge (Ferris, Huard, and McDonnell, 2016; Ferris, Huard, McDonnell, and
Sillaby, 2016).
Conclusions and Recommendations
Recommendations
The recommendations identify factors that facilitated and inhibited the implementation of the
project to determine ‘promising practices.’ Based on the evaluation the following
recommendations for the Drop the Pop Challenge are made:
1. The Foundation ideally should provide more support staff available to aid schools with
implementation and planning for the Drop the Pop Challenge. This support also allows
for donor relationship development, as many participants were unaware of what services
and programs the Foundation provides for Manitoba residents.
2. Increased funding for Kidney Foundation staffing, which enables staff to foster capacity
building with schools and mentorship from the Foundation in regards to healthy
alternative to sugary drinks and activities encouraging health lifestyle choice on an
annual basis. Access to the Foundation and its resources (such as guest speakers) would
greatly aid in the knowledge transfer for healthy lifestyle choices on a year-round basis.
3. The overwhelmingly positive perception of the program demonstrates that those who
were involved generally enjoyed participating in the challenge. Feedback from the focus
groups suggests that the challenge should take place more than once a school year.
4. The Drop the Pop Challenge should be expanded outside of schools and incorporated
into a larger community challenge.
5. Traditional knowledge and health teachings, including traditional medicines, should be
expanded upon in the Drop the Pop lesson plans and include more options for traditional
knowledge to be interwoven with the challenge.

20. 20
6. Create a monthly spotlight section on the Foundation’s website that details the strengths
and successes of other schools, including how they overcame any challenges they
encountered and the various types of activities created for the children.
7. Create a section in the lesson plans and activities that looks into accountability for
students in the program; these should be open-ended suggestions (i.e. weekly sharing-
circles, drink diaries) that allow students to create their own methods for keeping one
another accountable.
8. There is a need for more research regarding how many schools use cultural practices,
ceremonies, or resources to help children learn more about how their culture(s) can help
them maintain their health.
Conclusions
Overall the evaluation was able to determine that the Drop the Pop Challenge has positive health
outcomes and is enjoyed by the majority of those who participate in it, with some longer lasting
healthy lifestyle changes being made by both teachers and students. For those who participated
in the focus groups, it was evident that awareness about the negative impacts of sugary drink
consumption and what the Foundation is and does greatly increased after contact from a Kidney
Foundation representative. All those involved in the evaluation process felt this aspect was an
integral aspect in implementing an effective program for the Foundation.
One of the repeated challenges identified, especially by teachers who implemented the program,
was that knowledge transmission of health concerns related to ingesting high amounts of sugar,
is not just aimed towards the students, but also the extended family members as well as the entire
community. For the program to create a positive behaviour change, the family must become
active in making healthier decisions for their health outcomes. If the children who participate in
the program continue to receive sugary drinks at home, the change in diet and sugar consumption
will only be temporary. So again, while the challenge is successful, a long-lasting and
sustainable change can only be made when sugar consumption decreases overall generally, not
just for the week-long challenge.

21. 21
References
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979.
Birks, M., & Mills, J. (2011). Grounded theory: A practical guide. Sage publications.
Canadian Feed the Children. (2015). “Challenges facing Canada.” Retrieved on January 26, 2016, from
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McGowan, K., & Rajotte, L. (2015) Care of Manitobans Living with Chronic Kidney Disease. Winnipeg,
MB. Manitoba Centre for Health Policy.
Dart, A. (2014). First Nation Community Based Screening to Improve Kidney Health and Prevent
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and 2009). Drop the Pop. James Bay: Public Health Department of the Cree Board of Health and Social
Services.
Diabetes Integration Project (DIP). (2014). Addressing Type 2 Diabetes and Complications for Rural and
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Ferris, M., Huard A., & McDonnell L. (2016). Talking circle/Focus Group: North Memorial School –
Portage la Prairie. Focus group transcript. Focus group conducted on March 8, 2016.
Ferris, M., Huard, A., McDonnell, L., & Sillaby, P. Evaluation – Focus Group #2 Notes. Roseau Valley
School. Focus group transcript. Focus group conducted on March 22, 2016.
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Determination Applied to Research: A Critical Analysis of Contemporary First Nations Research and
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frame-cadre/index-eng.php#a3.0
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http://www.kidney.ca/document.doc?id=1376
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of an epidemic in progress.” Canadian Medical Association Journal. 163(5), 561-566.

23. Resources
Program manager
$15,000 CN Rail
Funding
Prizes from donors
(water bottles, pens,
bags, etc.)
Information for
schools:
• 1) adaptable lesson
plans;
• 2) cultural competence/
connection to Elders
Media/website
Volunteers
Office space (fax
machine, computer,
phone, email, etc.)
Activities
Call for applicants
Notifying which school
have been selected
Providing lessons
plans/information on
kidney disease to
schools
Delivering the
challenge
Outputs
Lessons plans given
to the 12 participating
schools
DVD – Live With Hope
and Kidney Disease
created
Prizes for participating
schools
Healthy snack ideas
for participating
schools
Incentive of $250 to
each participating
school
Surveys/evaluation to
be filled out by school
and returned to
Kidney Foundation for
analysis
Participants
Reached
Consumers of sugary
drinks
Unhealthy/at-risk
youth
School/community
members
Outcomes
(short-term)
Children learn more
about the negative
effects of sugary
drinks on their health
Schools have more
resources and are
encouraged to
promote health
Establish healthy
lifestyles through an
Indigenous lens
Learn to respect
Mother Earth by
recycling/reusing
Outcomes
(intermediate)
Families understand
the need to support
their child’s healthy
choices
Teacher will consider
themselves as role
models and influence
healthy behaviours
Influencing the
community to re-use
and recycling
Outcomes
(Long-term)
Lower incidences of
diabetes, tooth decay,
and obesity in children
and community
Mainstream Logic Model Appendix: Fig 1.0

24. Outcomes
Mind/Decisions
Body/
Actions s
Emotions/Reactions
Spirit/Values
*Children learn
more about the
dangers of
sugary drinks
and their health
*Families
understand
the need to
support their
children
*Teachers think
about role-
modeling and
changing health
teachings
*Schools have
more resources
and
encouragement
to promote
health
*Kids make
healthier choices
Resources
• Media
• Volunteers
• Fax machines
• Office space
• Computers
• Phone
• Email
Resources
Program manager ->
$15,000 CN Rail Funding ->
Prizes (from donors) ->
Information for schools
needs (easy to use lessons, cultural
competence/connection
to elders)
Activity
Call for applicants ->
Assessing applications->
Notifying selected school ->
Providing resources ->
Delivering the challenge
Lesson plans (12 schools) ->
DVD Live with Hope ->
Prizes (12 schools) ->
Healthy snacks (12 schools) ->
Anything that is purchased
(with $250)
Outputs
Larger
Cultural
Outcomes
Appendix
Fig 2

25. Entry Form for Schools in Manitoba
Please complete all fields. Submit your form by February 21, 2016, via:
Email: mferris@kidney.mb.ca | Fax: 204.989.0815 | Mail: 1-452 Dovercourt Drive, Winnipeg, MB, R3Y 1G4
School name: Principal:
Mailing address:
Contact name: Community:
Email: Phone:
Your role: o Student o Teacher o Other:
About your idea (continue on the other side if you need more space)
Date of challenge (must be at least five days in March 2016):
What grades/ages will you be engaging during the challenge?
Why do you want your school/community to take part in this challenge?
Describe your overall idea for helping children learn about why they should “Drop the Pop”:
Please provide us with a plan on what you would do with the reward money. A few examples include: buying fruit and
vegetables to host a food tasting fair; buying blenders/fruit to teach children to make smoothies; buying milk to provide the children with a daily
“healthy” drink during the challenge; using the funds for a special outing connected to traditional health; hiring an Elder who can help the children
develop new skills; etc.
Aboriginal cultures are important for health and well-being. In which way(s) will your challenge incorporate culture?
Are you willing to complete an evaluation after the challenge ends? o yes o no o maybe
Thank you for completing this form. We will review all forms
after the February 21 deadline. We will let all winners know
of their success by February 26, 2016.
We acknowledge funding from CN for this program
DROP THE POP
CHALLENGE
Appendix A

26. Appendix B.1
Huard, Anna March 11, 2016
McDonnell, Leah
GDP 7791
Focus Group Questions –
Pre Test for Drop the Pop Challenge
1. How do you feel about consumptions of sugary drinks in the community and amongst
your students?
a. Prompt: Do you know how much they’re drinking?
b. What do you think about it?
c. What do you think the connections are between health and sugary drinks?
2. What would you like the program to do?
a. Prompt: How do you think the progam will/will it affect you and your students?
b. Family?
c. Community?
d. Is inclusion of traditional knowledge important?
3. If you had a magic wand, what would you want the program to do?
a. Prompt: What are current issues in the community? I.e. housing, food, health?
4. In the long term, do you think this program could affect you and students sugary drink
consumption?
a. What do you need to make program successful?
b. Do you think the program will be successful? Why/why not?
c. What support or series would you like to have?
5. What do you know about the Kidney Foundation?
a. What do your kidneys do?
b. What does the Kidney Foundation do?
c. What are some resources for you in dealing with Indigenous communities’ health
topics?

27. 1
Appendix B.2
Tuesday March 08, 2016
Talking circle/Focus Group:
North Memorial School- Portage La Prairie
11 participants present (Teachers and principal)
2 Interviewers (Leah and Anna)
1 Kidney Foundation Representative (Melanie)
The focus group took place during the lunch hour (12:55-1:55 pm) in the teacher’s lunch room.
Sandwiches, fruit, and vegetables were provided. The Kidney Foundation representative
(Melanie) brought a package regarding the Drop the Pop Challenge that included various prizes,
teaching curriculum, and tobacco ties as an offer. The tobacco ties are specific to First Nations
culture and are a sign of respect. This also outlines the idea of reciprocity, that is an important
factor for a First Nations worldview. The use of offering lunch is also an important aspect of
reciprocity demonstrated by the Kidney Foundation and falling in line with Indigenous World
views. Melanie gave a brief introduction of the Kidney Foundation and the program, while also
explaining the importance of offering the tobacco in First Nations culture.
There were two interviewers: Anna lead the group, while Leah took notes, asked supplementary
questions, and completed the write up.
Questions/Notes:
1. How do you feel about consumption of sugary drinks in the community and amongst your
students?
a. Prompt: Do you know how much they’re drinking?
b. What do you think about it?
c. What do you think the connections are between health and sugary drinks?
Major health concerns were discussed by the teachers. Many were concerned about the
sedentary lifestyle that children have although there was mention that half of the student body
was active, while the other half was less. The students were described to be on a wide spectrum
without a happy medium.
There were also many children who have lived with health problems in their family -- many have
seen their relatives with severe diabetes or receiving dialysis.
Leah’s note- this is concerning as it leads to the normalization of serious health conditions.

28. 2
Some of the teachers brought up that the children do not understand the connection of what is
going into their bodies (i.e. sugar) and how that can result in serious health conditions for the
future.
1. How much sugar are the students consuming?
The teachers brought up the fact that children are not allowed to have sugar on school -- so any
sugar that they are consuming is off campus. Leah note- this means that the Drop the Pop
challenge is a nice compliment to the activities that are already (and have been) taking
place at the school. I believe this will aid in the challenge’s success. The teachers discussed
that with the education around sugar consumption at the school and banning it from the premises,
the children are also telling their parents that sugar is bad for them. One teacher remarked that
when one child was offered pop for dinner, they told their parent they couldn’t have any because
it was bad for them. The teachers then discussed how the banning of sugars on campus has had a
direct benefit in the children's’ behaviour. However, they have only put the ban in place and are
just starting with the education component to go along with why sugar are bad. Leah’s note- the
Drop the Pop curriculum can provide some great advice and guidance on educating the
youth on the dangers of overconsumption of sugar.
The principal then started to discuss how to go around nutritional information and healthy eating
without body-shaming or making anyone feel uncomfortable. The staff wants to make sure that
everything on campus that takes place regarding healthy eating is not misconstrued to make any
child feel bad about their physical appearance. This is also in keeping with First Nation’s focus
on using a strength-based perspective in life/education. Leah’s note - this is a wonderful
perspective to maintain while dealing with health and body image - the attention to this
detail means that the staff have been thinking about this for a long time, in my opinion.
1. What would you like the program to do?
a. Prompt: How do you think the program will affect you and your students?
b. Family?
c. Community?
d. Is inclusion of traditional knowledge important?
The teachers want to see the knowledge being transferred over to the home units, so the parents
and guardians of the children can also make better choices from themselves and the children.
Leah’s note- this seemed to be one of the most important points for the staff at the school.
Without the parents and guardians being open to learning about sugary consumptions and
making better choices, the health benefits will not fully be realized. The teachers then spoke
about how they had been running a breakfast program for 18 years, provide healthy snacks
during the day and healthy soups for lunch once a week.

29. 3
1. What will be some challenges?
The teachers were mainly in agreement that the home piece will be difficult. Education for the
parents will be hard to do and the teachers hope to educate the children (that in turn can help
educate the parents) to make better and healthier choices. They also brought out the confusing
nature of shopping and how easy it is to buy something that is called juice, but is really just full
of water and sugar. For example, as companies specifically market “punches” as juice, but
punches are not natural juices and contain astronomically high amounts of sugars.
The discussion around inclusion of First Nations culturally relevant approaches was touched
upon, as the principal explained that there would be a split between wanting to include them and
not wanting to include them from the parent’s and guardian's perspectives. The principal note
that some families are interested in First Nations culture but about half the families follow
Christian traditions rather than First Nation culture.
Melanie asked a few questions:
1) How many people know what the kidneys do? 6/11 raised their hands. Melanie discussed
briefly what the kidneys do in the body.
2) How many people know who the Kidney Foundation is? 11/11 Leah’s note - proving
the Kidney Foundation does have a name for itself.
3) How many people know what the Kidney foundation does? 0/11 could answer although
one person did say that the Kidney foundation fundraises a lot.
These questions let Melanie go into a greater discussion about what the foundation does and
other supports that it offers to people in Canada. She then went into other details about other
supports that are available for First Nations communities that the teachers seemed now as
familiar with.
Melanie then went through what other schools have done during the challenge to give the staff
some ideas of what to do. She was able to show the teaching tools she had brought -- a bag of
recycled drink containers as a teaching aid for children to learn how to read labels -- and
answered other questions about what to replace sugary drinks with and how much sugar kids can
consume a day. At this point, the teachers did not really know much about the challenge itself,
as they had just applied for it and this was the first point of contact Melanie had with the teachers
themselves, other than 1 teacher in particular. Melanie was able to use this time to discuss other
schools that had doe the challenge, how these schools had administered the challenge, tips and
tricks of how to run the challenge, and Melanie went through the various teaching aides the
Kidney Foundation had supplied for the challenge.
Leah’s note: Melanie gave off a very strong and supportive presence that showed her
passion for the program. I believe the teachers responded very well to this and were
incredibly open and receptive to myself and Anna as well.

30. 4
Strengths:
School took the initiatives to ban sugary drinks from school premises already
The Drop the Pop Challenge is complimenting several other healthy food and education program
the school has already been taking part in (some for several years).
Weaknesses:
It was pointed out by Melanie that Leah and Anna did not ensure to hear from everyone who was
sitting at the table there were some participants that didn’t speak at all or spoke very little. Leah
and Anna have made note of this for future interviews to create a better space and make sure
everyone is heard from.
The logistical setup of the focus group/sharing circle also became problematic as the facilitators
were unable to see everyone's facial expressions, thusly, not able to make any notes about non-
verbal cues or expressions made during the session. If the facilitators we re set up differently
and able to see everyone in the room, it may have ensured that everyone was given a chance to
speak and express their opinion and non-verbal data could have been noted. This will be taken
into account for the next facilitation.
Findings:
There was a large push to have the knowledge learned from the children about health concerns
translate to the family units outside of the school.
There was not a large understanding of the program available to Indigenous students through the
Kidney Foundation's support system and other areas. The face-to-face contact with the
representative from the Kidney Foundation was positive, engaging and seemed to help answer
questions the faculty had.
The face-to-face interaction between Melanie and the school staff was important. Leah’s note -
I think the interaction with Melanie and the support she offered (teaching tools, prizes,
information) is integral for the success of the program. I believe the interaction with
Melanie is integral for the greatest success of the program. The school staff were very
happy with Melanie there and I also believe it aided in making the staff feel (and see how
they are) supported.

31. Appendix B.3
GDP – 7791
Student: Anna Huard
March 22, 2016
Evaluation – Focus Group #2 Notes
13 Participants
3 Facilitators (Melanie, Leah and Paige)
1 Note Taker (Anna)
Once we set up our focus group instruments and laid out the lunch that we had
provided, nine teachers had arrived (four more had trickled in just before the focus group
started). When everyone was seated and had a plate of food, Melanie handed out a
consent form to read over, as well as tobacco ties. She then stated the importance of
tobacco in Indigenous cultures and explained how accepting the tobacco ties meant that
they are consenting to the focus group. All teachers accepted the tobacco ties and the
focus group facilitators were introduced.
1. How many of you thought about your kidneys before you started administering
the Drop the Pop Challenge? Put your hand up to indicate a “Yes.” (One student
counts all responses, other records number)
Only two of the nine teachers raised their hands, meaning the majority of teachers did not
associate kidney health to the Drop the Pop challenge.
2. How many of you think about your kidneys NOW? Put your hand up to indicate a
“Yes.” (One student counts all responses, other records number)

32. Eight out of nine teacher raised their hands; therefore, almost all teachers were now
aware of the negative impacts of sugary drinks on their kidneys.
3. How many of you knew anything about the Kidney Foundation of Canada before
the Drop the Pop Challenge? Put your hand up to indicate a “Yes.” (One student
counts all responses, other records number)
All teachers agreed that they were aware of the Kidney Foundation of Canada prior to the
challenge.
4. How many of you feel you know something about the Kidney Foundation of
Canada NOW? Put your hand up to indicate a “Yes.” (One student counts all
responses, other records number)
Only one of the teachers knew what services the Kidney Foundation of Canada provides.
The other eight teachers were not sure what the foundation does, nor what they offer
outside of the Drop the Pop challenge.
5. What kinds of concerns do you have around the health of your students and/or
larger community?
Note: Facilitator to ensure that each attendee has a chance to contribute their
thoughts. We will record some notes on a flip chart to ensure all teachers have a
visual of what’s been shared for this question.
All teachers were asked to contribute their input for this question. Most teachers
expressed concern over unhealthy life choices, which could lead to diabetes. One teacher

33. said that many students do not come with a prepared lunch and rely on inexpensive,
processed foods from the corner store during the lunch hour. Since students have limited
funds, many purchase the largest quality of food for a lower price. This means that
students are often eating large bags of chips and bottles of pop because it is less costly
than nutritional foods. Due to the lack of choice in lunches for young students, teachers
feel that many children are malnourished, despite the options from the cafeteria and
breakfast program. Furthermore, younger students feel peer pressured to drink energy
drinks, such as Poweraid, because the older students are drinking it – this instils a sense
of popularity around consuming these drinks. In conclusion, the main themes of their
concern were risk of obesity, diabetes, lack of activity, and unaware of what is in their
food.
6. How has the Drop the Pop program influenced your students or children?
Most of the teachers claimed that they have seen less kids bringing litres of pop to school.
They felt that the challenge has opened up their options (such as choosing chocolate milk
or watering down juice) and are now awareness of what is in the food/drink. One teacher
has a mini fridge and offers to trade their unhealthy snacks and drinks for milk and water
or 100% fruit juice. The challenge has also inspired the local grocery store to offer free
fruit to customers while they are shopping. In conclusion, teacher have seen that kids are
now engaging in conversations about sugary drinks between peers and teachers, from all
ages (k-6) – many of the younger students are finding it “cool” to not like pop.
7. How has the program influenced your own behaviours?

34. One teacher felt very guilty about drinking a can of pop after the challenge. This program
has shown this teacher that you can make excuses to eat anything (mainly because of
habit) but this shows why you should self-reflect. Another teacher claimed that they now
look at sugar content on nutrition label than just calories.
8. What was the best part about the program?
All teachers agreed that making smoothies and engaging children to talk about healthy
life choices was the best part of the program for their students. Incentives, such as prizes,
were also beneficial.
9. What did you find challenging about the program?
A few teachers felt it to be a challenge to not have pop and continue conversations about
healthy life choices after the challenge. There were many key people who lead the
challenge but one teacher said that it could have been more successful to have a
collaborative effect between teachers. It was also difficult to engage all students to take
part in the challenge, especially for the kids who could benefit from the challenge the
most were also the most reluctant to participate.
10. How could the Kidney Foundation of Canada make the program more effective
for you as teachers, as well as for your students and community members?
A few teachers would have liked more hands-on visuals, such as someone on dialysis or
from the Kidney Foundation to come in and speak to the school. Most agreed that an
information event in the evening for parents would be beneficial. Although it would be

35. best to collaborate with corner/grocery store, most teachers felt it would be too difficult
to combat the economic drive of the stores. Another teacher felt it would be helpful to
have consistent education around healthy lifestyles and not just getting a reward for a
single behaviour. Most teachers also suggested engaging in a longer challenge, such as
doing it one week, every month.
11. Would you be interested in having your students do the challenge again in
November 2016?
All teachers said yes, even if it was just one day or week out of the month. One teacher
was encouraged to always have a mini fridge available for students to trade their
unhealthy snacks and drink. Many teacher also expressed wanting to expand the
challenge to mitigate other unhealthy life choices, such as Halt the Salt.
Melanie gave out prizes and talked about what kind of services the Kidney Foundation of
Canada provides. Everyone was very engaged; we made sure everyone was able to
contribute from the 5th
question on.

36. 1
Appendix C.1
CODING
Drop the Pop Challenge
Analysis of 2015 Report
By: Paige Sillaby
This section will assess the the Drop the Pop Challenge, Report to CN, December 2015. This
report is complied from feedback at eight Manitoba schools that have already completed the
Drop the Pop Challenge. From this report six themes have been identified.
Report from following schools:
Chief Clifford Lynxleg Anishnabe School, Duke of Marlborough School (Churchill), Joe A.
Ross School (Opaskwayak Cree Nation), Langruth Elementary School (Langruth), Peter Yassie
Memorial School (Tadoule Lake), Roseau Valley School (Roseau Valley), Walter Whyte School
(Grand Marais), Waywayseecappo Community School (Waywayseecappo First Nation)
Themes:
1) Knowledge transmission
2) Change in behaviour
3) Education and resources
4) Program and implementation
5) Incorporating culture into the Drop the Pop Challenge
6) Unanticipated outcomes
Knowledge transmission
The intergenerational effects of the Drop the Pop Challenge was important to consider for
understanding the role of teachers and parents in the challenge. Based on the report, many
schools stated that having children participate in challenge encourage parents to also Drop the
Pop for a week. In addition, teachers were also noted as participating in the challenge. This is
significant because it demonstrated that the challenge also provided awareness of the danger of
sugary drinks to parents and teachers.
“… some students even encouraged their parents at home to quit drinking pop for that
week” (Chief Clifford Lynxleg Anishnabe School)
“Teachers showed a healthy alternative and made fruit smoothies with milk, vanilla
yogurt and frozen berries with the students and bannock” (Duke of Marlborough School)
“Students continue to watch the drinks they consume and encourage their parents to do
the same” (Duke of Marlborough School)

37. 2
“Parents were invited in to look and presentations and to show the amount of sugar in
pop” (Joe A. Ross School)
“Students brought in healthy family recipes… currently the school is in the process of
putting a a Healthy Family cookbook” (Langruth Elementary School)
“Many of our students did complete the challenge along with some of their parents”
(Peter Yassie Memorial School)
Change in behaviour
This program evaluation wanted to look at potential changes in children’s behaviour, during and
after their participation in the Drop the Pop Challenge. Based on the report, many schools cited
that pop consumption had decreased. Some students even traded in their liter bottles of pop.
During the challenge students were able to trade in sugary drinks for healthy alternatives such as
water and milk. An interesting behavior challenge includes the the increase in reusable bottles
and a shift towards healthier drink alternatives, water, milk, and vitamin water.
“most of our students were bringing in re-usable water bottles with milk or water,
instead of their regular, sugary juice” (Chief Clifford Lynxleg Anishnabe School)
“One students mother in the primary grades brought in soda by accident and the child’s
eyes got big and he ran to his mother to tell her he could not drink it and he gave it back
to her” (Joe A. Ross School)
“We saw a large increase of vitamin water and regular water for alternative beverage
brought into the school for recess and gym time” (Peter Yassie Memorial School)
“The highlight for me was a grade 1 and grade 9 student who came up to me to trade
their Pepsi that their parent had packed them for something better. The grade 9 boy was
a particular victory as he regularly would bring in a 1-litre of pop” (Roseau Valley
School)
“The amount of pop consumed in the school since the challenge has declined
significantly because anytime pop is brought to the school by students, we exchange it for
milk” (Waywayseecappo Community)
Education and Resources
A couple of the school’s reported that health professionals such as nurses and dietitians came to
the schools and did informative talks on the dangers of sugary drinks.

38. 3
“Week started with a visit from the public health nurse, Shanna Hart Cowley, who taught
about the amount of sugar in drinks such as pop, energy drinks, apple juice, chocolate
milk, white milk and water” (Duke of Marlborough School)
“We worked in cooperation with the Public Health and the Dietitian who did
presentation on having students measure out the sugar in a variety of drinks and
discussed having healthy kidneys. Public Health disused diabetics, showed sugar cells
and showed the dangers of sugar to the body using a model body. (Joe A. Ross School)
“Divisional Social Clinician spoke to the students about kidney health and the risk of
diabetes and other health related problems” (Langruth Elementary School)
“Health department also ran stations that focused on the health alternatives we can eat
and drink” (Waywayseecappo Community)
Program implementation
An important aspect of the report was looking at how the Drop the Pop Challenge was being
implemented at the Manitoba schools. Many of the schools held interactive and delicious
activities for the children participating in the challenge. For instance, a couple of the schools
talked about, how much the children enjoyed smoothies. Looking at how the Drop the Pop
Challenge is being implemented in schools is extremely important because it highlights how the
schools are utilizing the materiel provided by the Kidney foundation. A couple of schools, talked
about science experiments they did with the children, and drink exchange programs which
demonstrates that children are being educated about the bad effects of sugary drinks.
Nursery children/ kindergarten- sang songs about why sugar is bad
Grade 1 & 2- students were asked to draw a picture of what they thought sugar did to the
body and why it is bad for the body.
Grades 5, 6 & 7- some students used the information (from Drop the Pop Challenge) for
their science projects, for example, what sugar/ pop does to the body, and its long term
and short term effects (Chief Clifford Lynxleg Anishnabe School)
“A few classes placed an egg in different glasses of pop to see what would happen. They
looked at the staining and deterioration of the egg. A YouTube video showed the students
what would happen if a tooth was placed in a cup of coke from 48 hours” (Duke of
Marlborough School)
“Milk and water was given out and all juice was traded for milk and water” (Joe A. Ross
School)
“Students helped make and deliver 62 strawberry banana and 34 blueberry smoothies to
all of our students and staff received some too” (Walter Whyte School)

39. 4
Incorporating Culture into Drop the Pop Challenge
In additional to health awareness, our assessment looks at if and how community specific
cultural practices, ceremonies and teachings are being applied to the Drop the Pop Challenge. In
particular, one school explained how culture was incorporated at the beginning if the challenge
with a community round dance, and continued through out the week. This was done through
daily smudging.
“We started our event our event with a Round Dance. The Elders and leaders of the
community were in attendance… The entire school top part in the round dance and it was
started off by the drumming group” (Joe A. Ross School)
“We did smudging in the morning to help clear our minds… The Elders talked about
when they were child and how they lived off the land and ate off the land” (Joe A. Ross
School)
Mini health fair “community members were involved and did presentations on traditional
food and how it was prepared” (Waywayseecappo Community)
Unanticipated outcomes
When doing any program, there is going to be unanticipated outcomes, these vary from school to
school. Some interesting outcomes include, a recycling program, older students being role
models from young students, and lastly the structural changes.
We can also connect these unanticipated outcomes to the importance of culture, as recycling is
connected to Indigenous people’s beliefs that it is important to care for the earth and
environment. As well, role modelling has been found to be an important concept in programs
that promote health for Indigenous people. An Australian article on the psychosocial mediators
of health found that, “role models were a key factor in the development of positive self-identity
in Indigenous youth… self-identity is domain specific, meaning that while positive self-identity
as a student led to better outcomes at school, there was no association with better outcomes in
other domains” (Darwin, Contributors, & Shoemborn, 2009, p. 206)
It is important to note that only positive outcomes were reported from the schools.
“extended the challenge a couple extra days due to the snow one day and some students
not in attendance for the presentations” (Joe A. Ross School)
“Recycling was incorporated daily into the challenge as plastic water bottles and milk
cartons were collected for recycling” (Joe A. Ross School)
“Students really seemed to respond to the older students teaching the younger students
about healthier choices” (Joe A. Ross School)

40. 5
“A couple weeks later during the Christmas party.... all they served the entire evening
was water” (Joe A. Ross School)
“Many students were very interested in the challenge because a majority of them know
someone with diabetes and/ or high blood pressure” (Peter Yassie Memorial School)
“Community saw the article in the Nickel Belt News, which led to a lot of positive
feedback from the community members” (Peter Yassie Memorial School)
References
Darwin, N. T., Contributors, V., & Shoemborn, D. (2009). Leadership and role models for young
Indigenous Australians involved in the Rumbalara Football Netball Club. Pimatisiwin,
7(2), 201. Retrieved from
http://www.pimatisiwin.com/online/wp-
content/uploads/2010/jan/03O'BrienParadiesReilly.pdf

41. Appendix C.2
Example of Data to code
Ashern Central School
By Chelsea Lowry, teacher
Ashern Central School took part in the Drop the Pop Challenge the last week in March. The
challenge was promoted to all students in the school, grades 5-12, for the entire month of
March leading up to the challenge week.
The grade 9 Foods and Nutrition students were in charge of informing students, staff and
parents of the challenge to drop the pop and other sugary drinks for the week of the challenge.
The Foods and Nutrition students who ran the challenge created Healthy Living Displays which
were set up in the multi-purpose room in the school during the week of the challenge. The
students also prepared healthy snacks to share with the entire school as a way of promoting an
overall healthy lifestyle.
The displays covered a variety of topics, including Healthy Snacking, Healthy Eating with
Canada’s Food Guide, Eat This Not That, and the Effects of Diabetes on the Body. They also
created a display to educate students on the negative effects of sugar on the body, and to
highlight the amount of sugar found in many drinks, including pop, iced tea, sports drinks and
energy drinks. This display remains in a display cabinet near the entrance to the school.
As a final celebration for the challenge week, the students who successfully dropped the pop
and other sugary drinks for the entire week were given a re-usable water bottle to help them
drop the pop for good!!
Ruth Betts Community School, Flin Flon
Submitted by Linda Lowe
The Drop the Pop Challenge has proven to be a success here at Ruth Betts school. We started
the challenge by setting up presentations for the kindergarten to grade five classrooms. We
picked different subjects for the different grades based on what we thought would get their
attention in a way they would remember. We also found that they discussed the presentations
with children of different grades, so many students have heard more than what was presented.
In kindergarten we talked about what sugar does to our teeth and discussed foods that are
healthy for our body and teeth compared to foods that aren't. We then gave them a colouring
sheet showing a happy tooth surrounded by different foods, and asked them to draw lines from
the healthy choices to the tooth

42. In the grade 1 to 3 classrooms we compared our teeth to the shell of an egg. We explained that
pop is very acidic, just like vinegar, and let the kids predict what would happen if we left the egg
in the vinegar overnight. We also left an egg in coke overnight and asked if they thought the
egg would still be white the next day. When we returned the next day the shell of the egg had
been eaten away. We told the kids that repeated exposure to highly acid drinks and food (like
pop) would do the same thing to the enamel of our teeth, and explained some of the pains and
problems that would come with this.
In the grade 4 classroom we conducted a blind water taste test. We poured three different
kinds of bottled water and some tap water into jugs marked A, B, C, and D. After the students
had all tried each different water we had then rate each water out of 5. At the very end we
voted on which water they thought was tap water, and discussed the benefits of drinking tap
water.
We created a display for the hallway with our grade 4 to 5 boy's and girl's group. We bought a
variety of popular drinks and had the kids measure out the amounts of sugar in that drink. We
set up the display in the main hallway and had almost all people (adults and children alike) stop
and take in exactly how much sugar people drink.
On the last day of our challenge we brought healthy smoothies to each of the classes as a tasty
alternative to pop and other sugary drinks. We wanted to show them that it doesn't need to be
loaded with added sugar to taste like a treat.
This challenge has been a success in our school because it has visibly made people here stop
and think about how unhealthy some of the choices we make are. We hope that opening these
student’s eyes will help them make healthier choices in the future.

43. Appendix D.1
CONSENT FORM FOR IN-PERSON FOCUS GROUP
You’re invited to voluntarily take part in an evaluation study on the Drop the Pop Challenge. The
study will be conducted by Leah McDonnell, Paige Sillaby and Anna Huard, all graduate
students in the Masters of Development Practice in Indigenous Development at the University
of Winnipeg, in collaboration with Melanie Ferris, the Kidney Health and Communications
Manager at the Kidney Foundation of Canada – Manitoba Branch. Your participation is
completely voluntary.
Purpose of the study: You’ll be asked to engage in a focus group in person at your school,
completing the focus group will take about 30 minutes. The benefits of this evaluation will
indicate whether the program goals are being achieved, what the strengths and weaknesses of
the program are, and if needed, guide us on improving the program. All participants must be at
least 18 years of age to participate in the study.
Your voluntary participation will involve a commitment of about 30 minutes to answer some
open-ended questions on your observations and insights of the program as a group. We will
ask the group a series of questions about how perceive the health status of your students and
whether the student body will benefit from the program. We will ask you questions and make
written notes of your answers. You may refuse to answer questions you prefer not to answer.
You are free to withdraw from the evaluation at any time before the completion of the final
report without consequence.
We’ll keep your responses in a locked cabinet in an office at the Kidney Foundation of Canada –
Manitoba Branch. We’ll keep the consent forms separate from the focus group responses. We’ll
keep your identity confidential by using a number coding system. No one else will have access
to your responses. We will not tape-record or videotape the focus groups. Following the
preparation of the final report, we’ll shred your responses within one year (March 2017). We’ll

44. report data collected from the focus group in aggregate form only. We may present results of
the study at a conference and/or publish them in a book or article.
We are accountable to you for the accuracy of the information and for other aspects of the
research. If you have any questions or concerns about the work, we encourage you to email us
at mferris@kidney.mb.ca. You can also contact us if you later decide you do not want us to use
the answers you gave us. This would be okay any time before April 15, 2016. We are also
accountable to the University of Winnipeg, University Human Research Ethics Board. If you
have any remaining concerns about the way this study is conducted, you may contact the Ethics
Board by phoning the Program Officer at 204-786-9058 or emailing ethics@uwinnipeg.ca.
Please check one:
□ I agree to participate in the evaluation study described above.
□ I do not agree to participate in the evaluation study described above.
□ Oral consent is indicated
If I want to use a positive quote/excerpt from your interview in the final report, without
specifically identifying you, do you consent to this? Yes ___ No ____
Name (please print): ___________________________________________________________
Your signature: ______________________________________ Date: ___________________
Principal Investigator’s signatures: _____________________ Date: ____________
_____________________ Date: ____________
_____________________ Date: ____________
A copy of this consent form will be provided to you.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.

45. Appendix D.2
Drop the Pop Challenge Evaluation: Pre-Challenge Survey
The following is pre and post-test that will be distributed to students (grade two to grade six) that
are participating in a Drop the Pop Challenge. This is because children that are under this grade
level will not have the skills/ reading ability to do the pre and post test. Pre and post-tests are a
quantitative instrument for gathering data at the being and at the end of a program. These surveys
apply simple language in order to ensure that children can complete the survey, however, some
support might be needed for the younger children. The tests are beneficial because they will
highlight any improvement in children’s understanding of the negative impacts of sugary drinks,
and provide statistics on how many children participate in Drop the Pop Challenge.
The Kidney Foundation needs your help! Tell us what you think about the Drop the Pop
Challenge.
**All information will remain anonymous **
School Name: _____________________________
Grade: _____________________________
Community: _____________________________
On average, how many sugary drinks (Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, juice) do you have per week?
a) under 2
b) 3-4
c) 5-6
d) over 7
How many sugary drinks (Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, juice) do you think you should be drinking per
week?
a) under 2
b) 3-4
c) 5-6
d) over 7

46. In the chart below, check mark the box that best answers the sentence.
Sentence/ Statement Yes!!
Definitely
Yah, I
think so
Maybe a
little
Umm…
I don’t
think so
No Way!
Not at all
Drinking pop is bad for your health.
You can become overweight from
drinking too many sugary drinks.
(eg, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, juice)
Sugary drinks are good for your
teeth.
Drinking water is better than
drinking sugary drinks (eg, Pepsi,
Dr. Pepper, juice)
Drinking too many sugary drinks
causes Type 2 diabetes.
Pop does not contain caffeine.

47. Drop the Pop Challenge Evaluation: Post-Challenge Survey
The Kidney Foundation needs your help! Tell us what you think about the Drop the Pop
Challenge.
Your input is greatly appreciated. **All information will remain anonymous **
School Name: _____________________________
Grade: _____________________________
Community: _____________________________

48. Did you successfully Drop the Pop for one week (5 days)?
Yes No
After participating in the Drop the Pop Challenge, do you think sugary drinks. (eg, Pepsi, Dr.
Pepper, juice) are bad for you ?
Yes No
Why or why not?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
In the chart below, check mark the box that best answers the sentence.
Sentence/ Statement Yes!!
Definitely
Yah, I
think so
Maybe a
little
Umm…
I don’t
think so
No Way!
Not at all
Drinking pop is bad for your health.
You can become overweight from
drinking too many sugary drinks.
(eg, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, juice)
Sugary drinks are good for your
teeth.
Drinking water is better than
drinking sugary drinks (eg, Pepsi,
Dr. Pepper, juice)
Drinking too many sugary drinks
causes Type 2 diabetes.
Pop does not contain caffeine.
There is potential for intergenerational effects as a result of the Drop the Pop Challenge which
this survey seeks to evaluate. The following is a survey that will be distributed to parents and
teachers of children that are participating in the Drop the Pop Challenge. The Kidney
Foundation will send the surveys to a participating school. From there, it will be school’s
responsibility to give to teachers and to send home with children. Completed surveys will be
returned to the school’s head office. Once there have been collected, they will be sent to the
Kidney Foundation for analysis.

49. Drop the Pop Evaluation Survey
Please help the Kidney Foundation improve our Drop the Pop Challenge by filling out the
following evaluation survey. The purpose of this survey is to contribute to the assessment of the
Drop the Pop Challenge at the various host schools in Manitoba. We value your feedback and
will try to incorporate your idea into future Drop Pop Challenges.
**All information will remain anonymous. **
1.) What is your occupation? (eg, parent, teacher): __________________
2.) School: _______________________________________________
3.) Community: _______________________________________________
4.) How did you learn about the Drop the Pop Challenge?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
6.) On average how many sugary beverages to do you consume in per week? (Please circle)
a) Under 2
b) 3 to 4
c) 5 to 6
d) over 7

50. In the chart below rate your agreement level for the following statements.
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
7.) Consumption of
sugary drinks has a
negative effect on
health.
8.) Consumption of
sugary drinks is high
among Aboriginal
communities.
9.) Drop the Pop
Challenge provided
opportunities for
community (parents,
and teachers) to
become involved.
10.) Drop the Pop
Challenge improved
your knowledge of
the impacts of sugary
drinks. (eg, Pepsi, Dr.
Pepper, juice)
11.) Drop the Pop
Challenge provided
sufficient educational
material on
alternatives to sugary
drinks.
12.) Drop the Pop
Challenge educated
children on the
benefits of healthy
eating and lifestyle

51. choices.
13.) Drop the Pop
Challenge has created
health awareness for
teachers.
14.) Drop the Pop
Challenge has created
health awareness for
school boards.
15.) There was a
cultural component to
the Drop the Pop
Challenge? For
example: smudging,
education on
traditional foods etc.
16.) Did you notice
any behavioral
changes in the
children that
participated in the
Drop the Pop
Challenge?
17.) Did you notice
any attitude changes
in the children that
participated in the
Drop the Pop
Challenge?
18.) Did the Drop the
Pop Challenge meet
its goal; to decrease
consumptions of
sugary drinks by
children and teens in
Manitoba’s First

52. Nations
Communities?
19.) Did the Drop the
Pop Challenge meet
its goal; to make
students, parents, and
community members
aware of the harmful
health effects of
sugary drinks.
20.) Did the Drop the
Pop Challenge meet
its goal; to promote
water and milk as
alternatives to sugary
drinks?
21.) What are 3 things you like about the Drop the Pop Challenge?
1)____________________________________________________________________________
2) ___________________________________________________________________________
3)____________________________________________________________________________
22.) Do you have any suggestions on how to improve the Drop the Pop Challenge?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

53. Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
23.) I would
recommend the
Drop the Pop
Challenge to other
schools?
22.) This space is for any additional comments on the Drop the Pop Challenge.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Miigwetch/ Thank you for your participation!

54. Appendix D.3
Evaluating the Drop the Pop Challenge
Dear teachers:
We appreciate your feedback on the Drop the Pop Challenge. This helps us ensure that future
activities meet your needs and expectations.
Please return your completed evaluation form to:
• the person in charge of the challenge for your school;
• The Kidney Foundation’s fax at (204) 989-0815; or by
• Email: mferris@kidney.mb.ca
School: ________________________________
Grade: _________________________________
Community: ____________________________
1 How do you rate the following aspects of the challenge?
1 – Poor 2 – Fair 3 – Good 4 – Very Good 5 – Excellent N/A – Not applicable
Content 1 2 3 4 5
How do you rate the content of the teachers’
guidebook?
Did you do educational activities focused on
nutrition? Yes £ No £
If yes, how do you rate them?
Did you do educational activities focused on
oral health? Yes £ No £
If yes, how do you rate them?
Did you do activities focused on
environment? Yes £ No £
If yes, how do you rate them?

55. 1 – Poor 2 – Fair 3 – Good 4 – Very Good 5 - Excellent
Organization and materials 1 2 3 4 5
Duration of the challenge (5 days)
Timing of the challenge (March)
Distribution of the activities according to
grades
The structure and design of the teacher’s
guide
Prizes (purchased by your school)
General
General 1 2 3 4 5
Overall, how do you rate Drop the Pop
Challenge?
2 Which educational activities did you do in your class? Please write the names of the lessons
below:
3 Are you interested in taking part in the Drop the Pop Challenge in November 2016?
£ Yes £ No Please explain:
4 How can we improve this challenge?
Miigwetch/thank you for taking part!

56. Fill out the
survey as
best as you
can!
1 1
2 2
3 3
Appendix D.4

57. Appendix D.5
Picture/survey analysis data compilation
Column1 Column2 Column3 Column4 Column5 Column6
Positive Negative
No pop 4 Nothing 22
Got to have smooties 13 No pop 14
Liked other drinks 20 Pople were cheating 6
Felt good/healthy 8 Had less energy 2
Got to eat yogurt 5 Too easy 4
Activities 19 Too healthy 1
Prizes 10 Not enough support 1
Educational 1 Kids help too much 1
DTP was easy Only 1 thing 3
Energy 2 No awareness for diet pop 1
No littering 1 Pople complained 1
Health snacks provided 2
N - 43