School Lunch

Background: Since there is a shift from eating lunch at home to eating lunch at primary schools in the Netherlands, providing a school lunch may be an important opportunity to improve the diet quality of Dutch children. Therefore, the aim of this Healthy School Lunch project is to encourage healthy eating behavior of children at primary schools by offering a healthy school lunch, based on the guidelines for a healthy diet. In this study, two research questions will be addressed. The first research question is: What and how much do children consume from a self-served school lunch and how do they evaluate the lunch? The second research question is: Do children compensate healthier school lunches by eating less healthy outside school hours? The purpose of this paper is to report the rationale and study design of this study. Methods: In the Healthy School Lunch project children in grades 5-8 (aged 8-12 years) of three primary schools in the Netherlands will receive a healthy school lunch for a 6-month period. To answer research question 1, lunch consumption data will be collected at baseline and again at 3-and 6-months. This will be measured with lunch photos and questionnaires among children. To answer the second research question, a quasi-experimental, pre-test post-test intervention-comparison group design (3 intervention schools and 3 comparison schools) will be carried out. Potential compensation effects will be measured with a single brief questionnaire among parents at the three intervention and three comparison schools at month 6 of the lunch period. The school lunch will also be evaluated by parents (discussion groups) and teachers and support staff (brief questionnaires). Discussion: Results of this study will provide valuable information to influence future school lunch interventions and policies. Trial registration: This study is registered at the Netherlands trial register (NTR): trialregister.nl, Trial NL7402 (NTR7618), registered retrospectively at 2018-11-13.

In this article, reflecting critically on past school food studies and considering the landscape of qualitative methods, notably youth participatory action research methodologies, the authors share methodological suggestions for centering social justice and sustainability with the lived experience of youth by drawing on their critical qualitative research in Detroit and New York City public schools. We advance an analytic framework that aims to center youth voices and solutions to social problems such as food justice and equity. To this end we call for attention to human rights, youth participatory research, and relational ethics as part of our intention to center youth voices. Furthermore, the article emphasizes how this critical research with urban communities, ought to, and can, directly involve young people in schools together with their teachers and school leaders working and learning to take actions in support of the health, strength, and sustainability of their communities.

In this article, reflecting critically on past school food studies and considering the landscape of qualitative methods, notably youth participatory action research methodologies, the authors share methodological suggestions for centering social justice and sustainability with the lived experience of youth by drawing on their critical qualitative research in Detroit and New York City public schools. We advance an analytic framework that aims to center youth voices and solutions to social problems such as food justice and equity. To this end we call for attention to human rights, youth participatory research, and relational ethics as part of our intention to center youth voices. Furthermore, the article emphasizes how this critical research with urban communities, ought to, and can, directly involve young people in schools together with their teachers and school leaders working and learning to take actions in support of the health, strength, and sustainability of their communities.

Objective:To investigate the relationships between children’s food and drink choices at school lunch for children who consume high and low sugar intakes at home.Design:Children’s food and drink consumption at home was assessed using diet diaries over three consecutive days. Children were classified as ‘high’ or ‘low’ sugar consumers at home using the WHO recommendation that free sugars should be less than 10 % of their daily total energy intake. A purposive sample of children was then selected and observed during school lunch, recording food selections, food left on plates and content of packed lunches.Setting:Six primary schools in Newham and Kent, England.Participants:Parents and children aged 6–7 years.Results:Seventy-one parents completed diet diaries. From the seventy-one, thirty-nine children were observed during school lunch. Twenty children were high sugar consumers, nineteen children were low sugar consumers; thirty-one children had a school meal. Eleven of the fifteen children (73 %) who had school meals and who were high sugar consumers selected a high-sugar dessert rather than fruit. Only five of the sixteen (31 %) children who had school meals and were low sugar consumers at home chose a high-sugar dessert. Most of the children who had packed lunches had sweet items, despite school policies.Conclusions:Children who consumed high sugar intake at home tended to select foods high in sugar for school meals or had packed lunches containing high-sugar foods. The implications for public health programmes include healthy eating workshops and implementing school food policies.

Scheduling play before eating lunch has been suggested as a relatively simple environmental strategy to increase fruit and vegetable (FV) intake among elementary school students. However, the few small studies to date have had mixed findings. The primary aim of this observational study was to evaluate the possible relationship between the relative order of play and eating and students' lunch intake of FV. A secondary aim was to examine whether any differences existed in this relationship by student sex, ethnicity, language spoken at home, and school lunch source. A diary-assisted 24-hour recall was collected during the 2011-2012 school year from 2,167 fourth-and fifthgraders attending 31 elementary schools in California. The association of play before eating with FV intake was estimated using Generalized Estimation Equations. Overall, lunch FV intake was not significantly higher for students who had a play-before-eating vs a play-after-eating lunch schedule at school. However, variables included in the model showed significant interaction with play before eating, resulting in the need for separate effect estimates for distinct strata based on sex, ethnicity, language spoken at home, and school lunch source. For 10 of the 16 strata, no significant effect of play before eating was observed on lunch FV intake, while increases in intake were observed in four strata and decreases in two strata. Before rescheduling play before eating for the purpose of improving student FV intake, additional research is recommended.

School lunch is in general regulated through policies and agendas constituted by the perspectives of adults. In this article, we focus on children's lived experiences of school lunch with a special emphasis on emotions and how they relate to social and physical dimensions. This study draws on empathy-based stories written by 10-11 year olds (n = 171) from schools in Sweden. We identified three themes: Interaction and exposure, Routines and restrictions and Food and eating. The children's lived experiences of school lunch and the emotions attached to them are closely associated and intertwined with the socio-spatial dimension of school lunch. A pleasant meal experience seems to require harmonization between the physical and social space whilst negative experiences contain tensions between them, something that actors working with school lunch and school lunch environments should take in consideration when resourcing, planning and scheduling school lunch, and also when designing new school restaurants.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE To explore the relationships between grade level and students' in-school meal experiences including school food service outcome measures and satisfaction with food from home. METHODS Outcomes were measured using an online survey conducted within one urban school district. Food selection was self-reported while a 7-point emoji facial scale was used to measure students' satisfaction with their dining experience, school foods, and food brought from home. A convenience sample of 1942 elementary students was solicited among kindergarten to 5 th grade students in nine schools. Cluster analysis on mean responses was used to classify grades into like groups. Analysis of variance was used to determine differences in mean values for each item by grade group. RESULTS Results show that grade level had a significant impact on mean satisfaction ratings. Two distinct grade groups were identified: kindergarten through 2 nd grades and 3 rd through 5 th grades. As grade level increased from kindergarten to 5 th grade, students selected a wider variety of entrees but their ratings indicated decreased satisfaction. One striking exception was noted, satisfaction with food brought from home became more positive with increasing grade level. APPLICATION TO CHILD NUTRITION PROFESSIONALS Findings from this study highlight the importance of obtaining feedback as evenly as possible across grades in an effort to ensure collected data reflects the opinions of the whole population. If even sampling is not achieved, nutrition programs striving to gather information from their student body can apply grade-level weighting factors to compensate for over-or under-sampling. Findings from this study also suggest that there are opportunities to improve satisfaction and possibly increase program participation with solicitation of feedback. Understanding grade level differences in food item selection and satisfaction can provide valuable insights for food service professionals planning menus and making procurement decisions for their operations. Furthermore, results suggest a better understanding of the phenomena surrounding students' satisfaction with food brought from home is needed.

The mixture of Brazil nut flour and green banana flour can improve the nutritional value of school meals, allowing for the use of regional ingredients derived from family agriculture. This study aimed to assess the stability of porridge pre-mixtures made with Brazil nut flour and green banana flour during six months of storage. Two types of pre-mixture were evaluated: with and without milk powder. These mixtures were packed in polyethylene/metallized polyester film, vacuum-sealed, and stored at room temperature. The products were evaluated for physicochemical composition, and every 30 days for moisture content, water activity, titratable acidity, pH, peroxide value and acidity of the lipid phase, total and thermotolerant coliforms, yeasts and molds, and sensory acceptance. There was no difference between the mixtures for the parameters evaluated. Moisture content, water activity, acidity of the lipid phase, and the yeast and mold count increased with storage time. The growth of yeasts and molds was more pronounced after 90 days of storage, when water activity reached the limit of 0.60. Although both products had good sensory acceptance throughout the period of study, it is recommended that the shelf life does not exceed 90 days.

Pravilne prehrambene navike u djetinjstvu važne su za podržavanje optimalnog rasta i razvoja, ali i prevenciju kroničnih nezaraznih bolesti kasnije u životu. Cilj ovog rada bio je procijeniti nutritivnu i energijsku gustoću jela koja se nude za ručak u devet osnovnih škola s područja Grada Zagreba i Zagrebačke županije. Za sva školska jela ponuđena za ručak unutar jedne školske godine izračunata je nutritivna gustoća uz pomoć validiranog NRF 9.3 indeksa, a energijska gustoća izražena je kao sadržaj energije po gramu jela. Rezultati nutritivnih i energijskih gustoća jela koja se nude za ručak međusobno su uspoređivani kako bi se utvrdili razlozi varijacija te odstupanja od normativa propisanih Nacionalnim smjernicama za prehranu učenika u osnovnim školama. Utvrđena je statistički značajna razlika u nutritivnoj i energijskoj gustoći juha i variva među školama (p<0,05). Različite vrste i količine korištenih sirovina (mesa i povrća) te dodane soli i ulja, razlozi su koji najviše dopr...

School meals present several cost benefits overtime at the short, medium, and long term for individuals and society. This cross-sectional study aims to analyse the nutritional composition and evaluate the adequacy of school lunches. One hundred and fifty-eight samples were collected and analysed from 10 primary schools in Sintra’s municipality, served during one week. On average, energy (27.7% daily energetic requirements) and carbohydrate (48.1%) contents did not reach the reference values, and the content of protein (19.5%) exceeded the reference value (p < 0.05). The mean total fat (28.8%) and saturated fatty acids (5.4%) content complied with the recommendations. The mean salt (1.7 g) and dietary fibre (8.3 g) content exceeded the reference value but did not differ significantly from the recommendations. Addressing school canteens is crucial, not only in a nutritional approach, but also as an opportunity to achieve healthier, sustainable, and accessible food systems, aligned ...

Introduction: Schools meals offer a critical opportunity for improving youths' diets, particularly for economically disadvantaged students. We examine the impact of a multi-pronged intervention to increase middle and high school students' lunch participation in an urban school district. Methods: In school years 2015-16 through 2017-18, a quasi-experimental study was conducted in 24 secondary schools, half (n=12) of which received the intervention: cafeteria redesign, additional school lunch points-of-sale (mobile carts and vending machines), and teacher education. Results: From baseline to follow-up, lunch participation dropped 4.1% in intervention and 5.1% in comparison schools (difference-indifference 1.0%, 95% CI 0.5, 1.4). The overall decline in lunch participation occurred simultaneously with a drop in free or reduced-price meal eligibility (from 72% to 58%) across all schools, which is likely related to changing local economic conditions, including a county-wide minimum wage increase that began in summer 2015. Among students eligible for free or reduced-price meals, participation decreased 1.8% in intervention and 4.9% in comparison schools (difference-indifference 3.1%, 95% CI: 2.5%, 3.7%), with a larger differencein-difference seen in high schools (5.0%, 95% CI: 4.2%, 5.9%) than middle schools (1.8%, 95% CI: 0.8%, 2.6%). Conclusions: While this intervention demonstrated a modest but significant relative increase in school lunch participation, the effect was not sufficient to halt large district-wide declines in participation during this study period. Given the significant time, money, and political capital required to implement the intervention, districts should carefully consider similar investments. Broader public policies or other changes to economic conditions that affect eligibility for means-tested benefits-in this case a strengthening local economy coupled with an increased local minimum wage-may influence school lunch participation more than school-level interventions.

Background: Since there is a shift from eating lunch at home to eating lunch at primary schools in the Netherlands, providing a school lunch may be an important opportunity to improve the diet quality of Dutch children. Therefore, the aim of this Healthy School Lunch project is to encourage healthy eating behavior of children at primary schools by offering a healthy school lunch, based on the guidelines for a healthy diet. In this study, two research questions will be addressed. The first research question is: What and how much do children consume from a self-served school lunch and how do they evaluate the lunch? The second research question is: Do children compensate healthier school lunches by eating less healthy outside school hours? The purpose of this paper is to report the rationale and study design of this study. Methods: In the Healthy School Lunch project children in grades 5-8 (aged 8-12 years) of three primary schools in the Netherlands will receive a healthy school lunch for a 6-month period. To answer research question 1, lunch consumption data will be collected at baseline and again at 3-and 6-months. This will be measured with lunch photos and questionnaires among children. To answer the second research question, a quasi-experimental, pre-test post-test intervention-comparison group design (3 intervention schools and 3 comparison schools) will be carried out. Potential compensation effects will be measured with a single brief questionnaire among parents at the three intervention and three comparison schools at month 6 of the lunch period. The school lunch will also be evaluated by parents (discussion groups) and teachers and support staff (brief questionnaires). Discussion: Results of this study will provide valuable information to influence future school lunch interventions and policies. Trial registration: This study is registered at the Netherlands trial register (NTR): trialregister.nl, Trial NL7402 (NTR7618), registered retrospectively at 2018-11-13.

Reduced access to school meals during public health emergencies can accelerate food insecurity and nutritional status, particularly for low-income children in urban areas. To prevent the exacerbation of health disparities, there is a need to understand the implementation of meal distribution among large urban school districts during emergencies and to what degree these strategies provide equitable meal access. Our case study of four large urban school districts during the COVID-19 pandemic aims to address these knowledge gaps. Guided by the Getting to Equity (GTE) framework, we conducted a mixed-methods study evaluating emergency meal distribution and strategy implementation in four large urban school districts (Chicago Public Schools, Houston