Abstract
Background
In Fall 2012, updated US Department of Agriculture school meal standards went into
effect and did not result in increased food waste overall. However, consumption of
school foods, especially fruits and vegetables, remains low. Therefore, strategies
to improve school meal consumption are necessary.
Objective
This study evaluated the combined impact of the updated school meal standards and
chef-enhanced, healthier meals, and the removal of flavored milk on students’ school
food selection and consumption compared with students in control schools.
Design
The Project MEALS (Modifying Eating and Lifestyles at School) study was a cafeteria-based
quasi-experimental intervention conducted during the 2012 to 2013 school year.
Participants/setting
Participants were students (n=1,309) in grades 3 through 8 attending four intervention
and four control schools in two low-income, urban school districts.
Intervention
Chef-enhanced school meals and the removal of flavored milk combined with the updated
US Department of Agriculture school meal standards.
Main outcome measures
Changes in school meal selection and consumption were examined using plate waste methodology.
Statistical analyses performed
Logistic regression and mixed-model analysis of variance adjusting for student demographics
and schools/students as a random effect (students nested within schools) were used
to examine differences in selection and consumption before (Fall 2012) and after (Spring
2013) a chef-based intervention with the updated school meal standards.
Results
After the chef-based intervention was implemented, there were no significant differences
in entrée, vegetable, or fruit selection. Significantly fewer students selected milk
compared with students in control schools (56.8% vs 94.0%; P<0.0001) and milk consumption was significantly lower (54.8% vs 63.7%; P=0.004). However, consumption was significantly greater for vegetables (62.2% vs 38.2%;
P=0.005) and fruits (75.2 vs 59.2%; P=0.04) in the intervention schools compared with control schools. There were no significant
differences in entrée consumption.
Conclusions
Schools collaborating with chefs can be an effective method to improve the consumption
of fruits and vegetables with the updated US Department of Agriculture school meal
standards. Further research should examine the longer-term impact of the removal of
flavored milk from schools to determine whether the lower selection and consumption
rates persist.
Keywords
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Biography
J. F. W. Cohen is an assistant professor, Department of Public Health and Nutrition, School of Health Sciences, Merrimack College, North Andover, MA, and an adjunct assistant professor, Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA.
Biography
S. Richardson is a doctoral student, Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA.
Biography
E. B. Rimm is a professor, Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, and a professor of medicine, Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 29, 2019
Accepted:
April 2,
2019
Received:
October 31,
2018
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This study was funded by a grant from Arbella Insurance. J. F. W. Cohen is supported by grant 1K01DK107810-01A1 (Cohen) from the National Institutes of Health.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS J. F. W. Cohen, S. Richardson, and E. B. Rimm conceived the study. J. F. W. Cohen and S. Richardson supervised the study. J. F. W. Cohen completed the analyses and led the writing. S. Richardson and E. B. Rimm provided critical feedback on the manuscript.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
