School lunch has always been designed to provide school children with a healthy midday meal, but what exactly is a “nutritious school lunch” and how has it evolved over the years? This article explores the school meals of yesterday and …
Smart Snacks: How One High School Continues to Contribute to the Bottom Line
The Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) and the introduction of the Smart Snacks guidelines left many school districts wondering how they were going to support the meal program’s bottom line without offering the a la carte foods that teenaged …
Smarter Lunchrooms and Let’s Go! Maine – A Perfect Match
The Smarter Lunchrooms Movement is championed in the state of Maine by Let’s Go!, a nationally recognized childhood obesity prevention program of the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center. Let’s Go! engages school nutrition programs as essential …
Right Sizing: Creating Appealing & Satisfying Portions in School Meals
David Just, PhD, Professor and Co-director for the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs at Cornell University will walk attendees through the visual factors that affect students’ level of satisfaction with portion size. He will discuss the
Smarter Lunchrooms in Action: Easy Cafeteria Changes in a Florida School District
In St. Lucie County Florida, schools are finding success as they implement new Smarter Lunchrooms Movement techniques. Some of the techniques used include: creative naming for fruits and vegetables, displaying fruit in an attractive bowl, enhancing taste expectations through attractive
… First Steps for Successful Procurement in your School Nutrition Program
The School Nutrition Program (SNP) is a complex business operation. Schools across the nation strive to provide nutritious, tasty, quality meals to students while being cost effective. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is dedicated to ensuring successful procurement …
10 Things You Don’t Know About School Food
Think you know everything there is to know about your school’s lunch program? Watch this webinar to test your knowledge. Kathy Burrill, Chisago Lakes Area Schools and Adam Brumberg, Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs …
Together … We Can! Achieving Successful Partnerships
Partnerships are an excellent way to enhance programming. Decreased funding and staff hours, and increased learning objective demands can make it hard for one organization to do it all. Partnerships provide an opportunity for multiple organizations to address community challenges …
Shining Light on Atmospherics: How Ambient Light Influences Food Choices
Can different levels of ambient light luminance (i.e., brightness/dimness) influence food choices? More specifically, would bright versus dim ambient lighting influences choices for healthy and unhealthy options? The results of a series of experiments conducted by Dipayan Biswas (Professor at …
The Name Game: Sending the Right Message
Why do restaurants use appealing descriptive adjectives like “succulent” or “fresh” on their menus? Because it makes dishes sound more appealing and can even make us enjoy our meal more! This very same low- cost technique can also be used …