Nutrition, Choice, and the School Cafeteria

Nutrition, Choice, and the School Cafeteria PDF Author: Sharon Marie Hakim
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic dissertations
Languages : en
Pages : 123

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Book Description
Growing rates of childhood obesity continue to be a major public health issue for this country. In order to impact childhood obesity at the population level it is necessary to shift our focus away from individual behaviors and towards the critical examination of the role that settings have in promoting or discouraging healthy eating. One relevant setting in the fight against childhood obesity is the school cafeteria. Since 1946, the National School Lunch Program has worked to ensure that schools can provide their students with affordable daily access to nutritional, well-balanced meals. However, "food served" does not necessarily equal "food consumed;" high rates of waste, especially of fruits and vegetables, are well documented. The current, mixed-method study examines the effectiveness of a low-cost intervention designed to increase student consumption of fruits and vegetables by altering the choice architecture of the cafeteria. This was done through the introduction of an active, forced choice into the school lunch service. Consumption was measured by observing (n=2,064) and weighing (n=84) student plate waste over two ten-day periods pre-intervention and during implementation. Results show an average daily 15% increase in consumption of both fruits and vegetables during the intervention period. Qualitative interviews (n=34) were conducted in order to better understand the environment of the school cafeteria and identify any barriers to healthy eating that may exist within the setting. Both quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that local schools can actively encourage students to take advantage of fruits and vegetables offered through the NSLP by implementing setting-level changes to the cafeteria environment.

Nutrition, Choice, and the School Cafeteria

Nutrition, Choice, and the School Cafeteria PDF Author: Sharon Marie Hakim
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic dissertations
Languages : en
Pages : 123

Get Book Here

Book Description
Growing rates of childhood obesity continue to be a major public health issue for this country. In order to impact childhood obesity at the population level it is necessary to shift our focus away from individual behaviors and towards the critical examination of the role that settings have in promoting or discouraging healthy eating. One relevant setting in the fight against childhood obesity is the school cafeteria. Since 1946, the National School Lunch Program has worked to ensure that schools can provide their students with affordable daily access to nutritional, well-balanced meals. However, "food served" does not necessarily equal "food consumed;" high rates of waste, especially of fruits and vegetables, are well documented. The current, mixed-method study examines the effectiveness of a low-cost intervention designed to increase student consumption of fruits and vegetables by altering the choice architecture of the cafeteria. This was done through the introduction of an active, forced choice into the school lunch service. Consumption was measured by observing (n=2,064) and weighing (n=84) student plate waste over two ten-day periods pre-intervention and during implementation. Results show an average daily 15% increase in consumption of both fruits and vegetables during the intervention period. Qualitative interviews (n=34) were conducted in order to better understand the environment of the school cafeteria and identify any barriers to healthy eating that may exist within the setting. Both quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that local schools can actively encourage students to take advantage of fruits and vegetables offered through the NSLP by implementing setting-level changes to the cafeteria environment.

Navigating Your School Cafeteria and Convenience Store

Navigating Your School Cafeteria and Convenience Store PDF Author: Kyle A. Crockett
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1422289443
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
Nutrition can be complicated. How do you know what foods are healthy and what aren't? How much should you eat? When you're standing in the lunch line in your school cafeteria, what decisions should you make? What foods should you buy at the convenience store after school? In a store or school cafeteria, it may be hard to pick the best foods and snacks. What LOOKS the best isn't always the healthiest. You may not have a lot of choices to pick from. Learn about making the best decisions you can—both in the lunch line and the convenience store.

School Lunch Program

School Lunch Program PDF Author: United States. General Accounting Office
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : National school lunch program
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description


Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools

Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools PDF Author: Committee on Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309108020
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
Food choices and eating habits are learned from many sources. The school environment plays a significant role in teaching and modeling health behaviors. For some children, foods consumed at school can provide a major portion of their daily nutrient intake. Foods and beverages consumed at school can come from two major sources: (1) Federally funded programs that include the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the School Breakfast Program (SBP), and after-school snacks and (2) competitive sources that include vending machines, "a la carte" sales in the school cafeteria, or school stores and snack bars. Foods and beverages sold at school outside of the federally reimbursable school nutrition programs are referred to as “competitive foods” because they compete with the traditional school lunch as a nutrition source. There are important concerns about the contribution of nutrients and total calories from competitive foods to the daily diets of school-age children and adolescents. Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools offers both reviews and recommendations about appropriate nutrition standards and guidance for the sale, content, and consumption of foods and beverages at school, with attention given to foods and beverages offered in competition with federally reimbursable meals and snacks. It is sure to be an invaluable resource to parents, federal and state government agencies, educators and schools, health care professionals, food manufacturers, industry trade groups, media, and those involved in consumer advocacy.

Assisted NuMenus

Assisted NuMenus PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Children
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
A rule published by USDA on June 13, 1995 updated and expanded the nutrition standards for school meals to include the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, required nutrients, as well as recommended levels of fat and saturated fat. The rule established specific minimum standards for key nutrients and calories that schools must meet. To help schools implement the udpated standards, the rule extended to schools a choice of three options for meal planning to consider. One of these options was nutrient standard menu planning (NuMenus). NuMenus provides a tool for improving the nutritional quality of school meals. This book was designed for those school food authorities who want to use a nutrient-based approach but do not necessary to independently conduct NuMenus. Includes cycle menus, food production records, prep and pull lists, NuMenus recipes, food product specifications, and nutrient analyses.

Using American Community Survey Data to Expand Access to the School Meals Programs

Using American Community Survey Data to Expand Access to the School Meals Programs PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309257204
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 383

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Book Description
The National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), are key components of the nation's food security safety net, providing free or low-cost meals to millions of schoolchildren each day. To qualify their children each year for free or reduced-price meals, many families must submit applications that school officials distribute and review. To reduce this burden on families and schools and to encourage more children to partake of nutritious meals, USDA regulations allow school districts to operate their meals programs under special provisions that eliminate the application process and other administrative procedures in exchange for providing free meals to all students enrolled in one or more school in a district. FNS asked the National Academies' Committee on National Statistics and Food and Nutrition Board to convene a panel of experts to investigate the technical and operational feasibility of using data from the continuous American Community Survey (ACS) to estimate students eligible for free and reduced-price meals for schools and school districts. The ACS eligibility estimates would be used to develop "claiming percentages" that, if sufficiently accurate, would determine the USDA reimbursements to districts for schools that provided free meals to all students under a new special provision that eliminated the ongoing base-year requirements of current provisions. Using American Community Survey Data to Expand Access to the School Meals Program was conducted in two phases. It first issued an interim report (National Research Council, 2010), describing its planned approach for assessing the utility of ACS-based estimates for a special provision to expand access to free school meals. This report is the final phase which presents the panel's findings and recommendations.

Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools

Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309103835
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
Food choices and eating habits are learned from many sources. The school environment plays a significant role in teaching and modeling health behaviors. For some children, foods consumed at school can provide a major portion of their daily nutrient intake. Foods and beverages consumed at school can come from two major sources: (1) Federally funded programs that include the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), the School Breakfast Program (SBP), and after-school snacks and (2) competitive sources that include vending machines, "a la carte" sales in the school cafeteria, or school stores and snack bars. Foods and beverages sold at school outside of the federally reimbursable school nutrition programs are referred to as "competitive foods" because they compete with the traditional school lunch as a nutrition source. There are important concerns about the contribution of nutrients and total calories from competitive foods to the daily diets of school-age children and adolescents. Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools offers both reviews and recommendations about appropriate nutrition standards and guidance for the sale, content, and consumption of foods and beverages at school, with attention given to foods and beverages offered in competition with federally reimbursable meals and snacks. It is sure to be an invaluable resource to parents, federal and state government agencies, educators and schools, health care professionals, food manufacturers, industry trade groups, media, and those involved in consumer advocacy.

School Meals

School Meals PDF Author: Committee on Nutrition Standards for National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309151376
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 395

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Book Description
Ensuring that the food provided to children in schools is consistent with current dietary recommendations is an important national focus. Various laws and regulations govern the operation of school meal programs. In 1995, Nutrition Standards and Meal Requirements were put in place to ensure that all meals offered would be high in nutritional quality. School Meals reviews and provides recommendations to update the nutrition standard and the meal requirements for the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs. The recommendations reflect new developments in nutrition science, increase the availability of key food groups in the school meal programs, and allow these programs to better meet the nutritional needs of children, foster healthy eating habits, and safeguard children's health. School Meals sets standards for menu planning that focus on food groups, calories, saturated fat, and sodium and that incorporate Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Dietary Reference Intakes. This book will be used as a guide for school food authorities, food producers, policy leaders, state/local governments, and parents.

School Breakfast and School Lunch Programs

School Breakfast and School Lunch Programs PDF Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description
These hearing transcripts present testimony to the Senate Committee on Agriculture regarding the School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. Statements were made by several senators, the president of the American School Food Service Association (Connecticut); a school food service program director (Florida); the director of nutrition and education for the American School Food Service Association (Virginia); the director of the Children's Nutrition Research Center (Texas); the vice president of Food Operations at Disneyland Resort and Concept Development (California); and an assistant professor of clinical dietetics and nutrition, University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania). Witnesses maintained that the Nutrition Education and Training Program needs funding to maintain its current service level. It is necessary to modify the School Lunch Program to encourage student participation, make it easier for schools for qualify, and to reduce the administrative burden. Testimony also indicated that breakfast programs are vital to student nutrition, academic performance, and school attendance. School food service has become more efficient and more consumer-oriented, has expanded to supply meals to new audiences, and has increased the flexibility of service delivery. However, it is necessary to integrate food service within the educational day to enhance student nutrition knowledge and practice. Offering food choices may reduce food waste. The solution to major childhood nutritional problems is to apply current information to improve children's diets and to support nutrition research. An appendix to the transcripts contains additional statements, letters, and materials submitted. (KB)

Nutrition Standards and Meal Requirements for National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs

Nutrition Standards and Meal Requirements for National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309127955
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
The National School Breakfast Program feeds 10 million children each day, and the National School Lunch Program feeds more than 30 million students. Yet the national nutrition standards and meal requirements for these meals were created more than a decade ago, making them out of step with recent guidance about children's diets. With so many children receiving as much as 50 percent of their daily caloric intake from school meals, it is vital for schools to provide nutritious food alongside the best possible education for the success of their students. At the request of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Institute of Medicine assembled a committee to recommend updates and revisions to the school lunch and breakfast programs. The first part of the committee's work is reflected in the December 2008 IOM report Nutrition Standards and Meal Requirements for National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs: Phase I. Proposed Approach for Recommending Revisions. Phase II of the report is expected in Fall 2009. This first report provides information about the committee's approach as it reviews the school lunch and breakfast programs. In the report's second part, the committee will share its findings and recommendations to bring these meals more in line with today's dietary guidelines. The committee welcomes public comments about its intended approach. An open forum will be held January 28, 2009 in Washington, DC to receive input from the public. Please go to http://www.iom.edu/fnb/schoolmeals for details or email [email protected] with any input.