Barbara Stitt, PhD
Barbara Reed Stitt, PhD, former Chief Probation Officer, President & Co-owner of Natural Ovens Bakery, Author of Food & Behavior: A Natural Connection; Nutritional Guidelines for Correcting Behavior; Impact of Fresh Healthy Foods on Learning & Behavior; and Roadmap to Healthy Foods in Schools in DVD/Video.
She has been studying the connection between nutrition and behavior since 1963. While working with the courts in Ohio as a probation officer, she developed a program in 1971 showing the relationship between what the people consumed and recidivism. During a period of 7 years, fewer than 15% of the people referred to the program were back in trouble. The results of the study were reported in a front page Wall Street Journal article on June 2, 1977, leading to international publicity and about 1500 presentations across the US and Canada. After marrying Biochemist Paul Stitt, founder of Natural Ovens Bakery, Barbara moved from Ohio to Wisconsin in 1982 and began promoting fresh, healthy foods for students in schools to help prevent future problems. In 1997, they were invited to provide all of the food to an Appleton, Wisconsin, alternative school that was so out of control they had a full-time police officer on staff for 50 students in the morning and 50 students in the afternoon.
The results were so positive in improvements of behavior, attendance, and academic ability that the program was extended to the entire school district of 15,000 students. The Appleton, Wisconsin, alternative school is included in the award winning film, Super Size Me to show how students should be fed. By just changing to fresh foods with no other changes being made, the stunning results show that after 9 years not one of the students from the alternative school had gotten into trouble with the Courts. A 14-minute DVD/video spanning five years of this school is available by going to www.naturalpress.info.
Barbara and Paul are now retired to Charlottesville, Virginia, where she continues to consult with schools.