Each school day, over 31 million K-12 students eat a USDA reimbursable meal. Food service at most schools consists of a lunch line where students move though the line and make their food choices. This buffet style service provides students …
Lunch Money Lessons: Paying Cash Leads to Healthier Choices in School Lunchrooms
Gone are the days of lost or forgotten lunch money! Over 60% of schools currently use electronic debit systems where students can simply enter their account number at checkout and pay for their lunch with no cash needed. Accounts can …
Simple Tricks to Reduce Waste and Increase Veggie & Fruit Consumption in the Lunchroom
Dr. David Just, Co-Director of Cornell’s Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs and one of the leaders the Healthy Food Choices in Schools Community of Practice, gives an introduction to the principles of behavioral economics and how they …
The Money Question: How is the School Cafeteria Funded?
Imagine running your own restaurant with a captive audience of customers who eat lunch each day. Now imagine providing these customers a complete, five component meal that consists of a meat entrée, fruit, vegetable, whole grain item and milk. Finally, …
The Consequences of Banning Chocolate Milk from School Cafeterias
For many children eating school lunch, chocolate milk is a standard choice. Since children generally don’t choose foods for health, but rather for taste, chocolate milk is usually the more preferred option. But what would happen if chocolate milk was …
Tips for Successful Implementation of Breakfast in the Classroom
It seems simple – pack up breakfast, send it up to the classroom, the children eat breakfast together and everyone is happy!
Not so fast!
Breakfast served to students in the classroom has tremendous benefits for the child and the …
Parent Engagement – A Key Ingredient for Successful School Meal Programs
What is Parent Engagement?
Parent engagement is defined as parents and school staff working together to support and improve the health, learning, and development of their children. It is a shared responsibility with schools and the community to engage parents …
Inside Eyes: Getting Cafeteria Feedback from Peers
A useful strategy for improving our school meal programs is to elicit feedback from other school food experts. Who are these other school food experts? Why, they are the directors and managers from our neighboring school districts, of course! Such …
How Texture and Mouth-feel Impact Food Preference
Food manufacturers offer products with different textural properties to appeal to various consumer preferences. For instance, Ore-Ida offers many variations of French fries, such as the classic smooth Golden Fries and Golden Crinkles, and Keebler has introduced Chips Deluxe Soft …
Tray Waste Part III: Effectively Present Your Data
The data that you collected can tell you the percentage of food being wasted before and after you implemented a change in your cafeteria. It will also tell you how many students are selecting food items. If food waste has …