Students typically walk past a wide assortment of food options as they proceed through the lunch line to buy meals at school—and the foods they pass on the way can actually impact what they wind up buying. Researchers at the …
USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
The USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) aims to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among students in the nation’s poorest elementary schools by providing free fresh fruits and vegetables to students outside of regular school meals. A recent evaluation …
What is the National School Breakfast Program and How Does It Work?
A hungry student may be one who can’t concentrate well enough to learn. Consider the National School Breakfast Program (NSBP) to address concerns about student concentration and academic performance.
The National School Breakfast Program provides nutritious and low-cost or free …
Habits that Help: How to Utilize Our Food-Choice Biases to Improve Nutrition
Eating behaviors tend to be programmed during childhood as kids determine what foods they do or do not like, so increasing a child’s preference for healthy food options at an early age can create a foundation for healthy living. Researchers …
Serving Up Sliced Apples: Wayne County, NY Schools, Cornell Cooperative Extension and Regional Food Bank Make It Happen
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wayne County (CCE) began working with school district food service directors (FSDs) several years ago to pursue ways to increase the amount and variety of local produce offered to public school students. With over 900 farms, …
3 Ways Nutrition Influences Student Learning Potential and School Performance
Advocates of child health have experimented with students’ diets in the United States for more than twenty years. Initial studies focused on benefits of improving the health of students are apparent. Likewise, improved nutrition has the potential to positively influence …
What is the National School Lunch Program?
Looking for a way to expose students to healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables and whole grains? Concerned about student academic performance? Consider the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)!
The National School Lunch Program provides nutritious and low-cost or …
Increase Meal Participation with Behavioral Economics Principles
Make Reimbursable Meals Convenient – During the lunch period, place Grab N’Go meals in high traffic areas or near popular hangouts. In other words, bring the food to them!
Make Reimbursable Meals Look Good – Highlight the meal with colorful …
Increase the Number of Students that Select Reimbursable Meals
During a busy lunch period, time is students’ most valuable commodity and they will often grab a snack or skip lunch altogether rather than wait in a long line for a full meal, even when they are hungry! Worse, over …
The Special Milk Program: An Introduction
Background
The Special Milk Program (SMP) was established in 1955 to increase the milk consumption by children in schools and childcare institutions that do not participate in other Federal meal service programs. In 1966, the Special Milk Program was incorporated …