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How the USDA School Meal Guidelines Impact Fruits and Vegetables Selection and Waste in School Cafeterias
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior Volume 48, Number 7S, 2016
P217 The Impact of Smarter Lunchroom Interventions on Vegetable and Fruit Selection and Consumption in Middle School Cafeterias Gnel Gabrielyan, PhD, [email protected], Cornell University, 112 Warren Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850; K. Greene, MPH; D. R. Just, PhD; B. Wansink, PhD Objective: The current research examines the effectiveness of environmental changes in school lunchrooms on the selection and consumption of fruits and vegetables. Theory, Prior Research, Rationale: Pilot studies found that environmental changes (attractive names for fruits and vegetables, attractive and colorful bowls for fruits, offering multiple vegetables) impact the consumption and selection of fruits and vegetables in school cafeterias. The prior research, however, concentrated on one change at a time. In this study we made multiple changes in cafeterias. Design, Setting, Participants, and Intervention: Six treatment schools were instructed to make a number of Smarter Lunchrooms changes focused on fruits, vegetables, and low-fat white milk to their cafeterias, and the six control schools were instructed to make no changes to their regular cafeteria setup. Outcome Measures and Analysis: Tray waste was measured by researchers using the quarter-waste method. Using tray waste data, selection is analyzed as the number of items chosen for each category (fruits, vegetables and white milk) and consumption is analyzed by subtracting the amount wasted from the amount selected. Results: While fruit selection decreased by 7.7% (p<0.001), there was no statistical difference in vegetable selection. The intervention, on the other hand, had a negative and a significant impact on both fruits and vegetable waste (p<0.01). Conclusions and Implications: The findings identify direct and indirect effects of such environmental experiments. These findings also shed light on the effectiveness and sustainability of these lunchroom changes, and the combination of additional intervention components that could result in a greater increase in selection and consumption of healthy items such as fruits, vegetables, and milk. Funding: None
P218 How the USDA School Meal Guidelines Impact Fruits and Vegetables Selection and Waste in School Cafeterias Gnel Gabrielyan, PhD, [email protected], Cornell University, 112 Warren Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850; D. R. Just, PhD; A. S. Hanks, PhD, Ohio State University; A. Brumberg, BS; B. Wansink, PhD Objective: In 2012, new United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations required schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to provide a fruit or vegetable with each meal. We examine the
Poster Abstracts S93
impact of these regulations on fruit and vegetable selection and waste. Theory, Prior Research, Rationale: Due to the criticism towards the nutritional content of its reimbursable meals, USDA updated school lunch guidelines. The new standards required that students take either a fruit or a vegetable to qualify as a reimbursable meal. While increasing the exposure of fruits and vegetables, new guidelines, however, did not guarantee increased consumption. Design, Setting, Participants, and Intervention: Twenty-one schools were randomly assigned to either continue to use their prior menus or to use menus based on the new USDA regulations. Food preparation, lunch sales, and student tray waste records were collected both before and after the treatment period. Outcome Measures and Analysis: Group mean and difference-in-difference analyses were conducted to compare the amounts of selection and waste. Results: The selection of both fruits and vegetables increased by 25% and 45% (p<0.001), respectively, as a result of new policy. The new policy also had a negative impact on vegetable waste (p<0.001). Conclusions and Implications: This randomized controlled trial shows that while the new policy succeeded in exposing students to more fruits and vegetables (increased selection), it had a mixed impact on the waste. This underscores the need of mixing new behavioral tools to better motivate the consumption and not just the selection of fruits and vegetables by students. Funding: None
P219 The Smarter Lunchrooms Randomized Controlled Trial: 2014-2015 Process Evaluation Results Alisha Gaines, PhD, [email protected], Cornell University, 342A Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853; T. F. Hill, MPH; L. N. Thomas, PhD; J. S. Dollahite, PhD, RD Objective: To evaluate the implementation and maintenance of a Smarter Lunchrooms (SL) study protocol designed to improve fruit, vegetable, and unflavored milk selection and consumption in middle school cafeterias via low- or no cost environmental changes. Design, Setting, Participants, and Intervention: Process evaluation utilizing an adapted RE-AIM framework was conducted to monitor fidelity to intervention protocol in 12 New York State public middle schools using a crossover design (6 treatment, 6 control in Fall 2014; 6 maintenance, 6 treatment in Spring 2015). The evaluation also served to determine the extent to which protocol was maintained post-intervention and identify barriers and facilitators to successful implementation. Outcome Measures and Analysis: Using cafeteria audits, fidelity scores were calculated at baseline, intervention, and two weeks post-intervention for all schools. Fall Continued on page S94
P217 The Impact of Smarter Lunchroom Interventions on Vegetable and Fruit Selection and Consumption in Middle School Cafeterias Gnel Gabrielyan, PhD, [email protected], Cornell University, 112 Warren Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850; K. Greene, MPH; D. R. Just, PhD; B. Wansink, PhD Objective: The current research examines the effectiveness of environmental changes in school lunchrooms on the selection and consumption of fruits and vegetables. Theory, Prior Research, Rationale: Pilot studies found that environmental changes (attractive names for fruits and vegetables, attractive and colorful bowls for fruits, offering multiple vegetables) impact the consumption and selection of fruits and vegetables in school cafeterias. The prior research, however, concentrated on one change at a time. In this study we made multiple changes in cafeterias. Design, Setting, Participants, and Intervention: Six treatment schools were instructed to make a number of Smarter Lunchrooms changes focused on fruits, vegetables, and low-fat white milk to their cafeterias, and the six control schools were instructed to make no changes to their regular cafeteria setup. Outcome Measures and Analysis: Tray waste was measured by researchers using the quarter-waste method. Using tray waste data, selection is analyzed as the number of items chosen for each category (fruits, vegetables and white milk) and consumption is analyzed by subtracting the amount wasted from the amount selected. Results: While fruit selection decreased by 7.7% (p<0.001), there was no statistical difference in vegetable selection. The intervention, on the other hand, had a negative and a significant impact on both fruits and vegetable waste (p<0.01). Conclusions and Implications: The findings identify direct and indirect effects of such environmental experiments. These findings also shed light on the effectiveness and sustainability of these lunchroom changes, and the combination of additional intervention components that could result in a greater increase in selection and consumption of healthy items such as fruits, vegetables, and milk. Funding: None
P218 How the USDA School Meal Guidelines Impact Fruits and Vegetables Selection and Waste in School Cafeterias Gnel Gabrielyan, PhD, [email protected], Cornell University, 112 Warren Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850; D. R. Just, PhD; A. S. Hanks, PhD, Ohio State University; A. Brumberg, BS; B. Wansink, PhD Objective: In 2012, new United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations required schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to provide a fruit or vegetable with each meal. We examine the
Poster Abstracts S93
impact of these regulations on fruit and vegetable selection and waste. Theory, Prior Research, Rationale: Due to the criticism towards the nutritional content of its reimbursable meals, USDA updated school lunch guidelines. The new standards required that students take either a fruit or a vegetable to qualify as a reimbursable meal. While increasing the exposure of fruits and vegetables, new guidelines, however, did not guarantee increased consumption. Design, Setting, Participants, and Intervention: Twenty-one schools were randomly assigned to either continue to use their prior menus or to use menus based on the new USDA regulations. Food preparation, lunch sales, and student tray waste records were collected both before and after the treatment period. Outcome Measures and Analysis: Group mean and difference-in-difference analyses were conducted to compare the amounts of selection and waste. Results: The selection of both fruits and vegetables increased by 25% and 45% (p<0.001), respectively, as a result of new policy. The new policy also had a negative impact on vegetable waste (p<0.001). Conclusions and Implications: This randomized controlled trial shows that while the new policy succeeded in exposing students to more fruits and vegetables (increased selection), it had a mixed impact on the waste. This underscores the need of mixing new behavioral tools to better motivate the consumption and not just the selection of fruits and vegetables by students. Funding: None
P219 The Smarter Lunchrooms Randomized Controlled Trial: 2014-2015 Process Evaluation Results Alisha Gaines, PhD, [email protected], Cornell University, 342A Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853; T. F. Hill, MPH; L. N. Thomas, PhD; J. S. Dollahite, PhD, RD Objective: To evaluate the implementation and maintenance of a Smarter Lunchrooms (SL) study protocol designed to improve fruit, vegetable, and unflavored milk selection and consumption in middle school cafeterias via low- or no cost environmental changes. Design, Setting, Participants, and Intervention: Process evaluation utilizing an adapted RE-AIM framework was conducted to monitor fidelity to intervention protocol in 12 New York State public middle schools using a crossover design (6 treatment, 6 control in Fall 2014; 6 maintenance, 6 treatment in Spring 2015). The evaluation also served to determine the extent to which protocol was maintained post-intervention and identify barriers and facilitators to successful implementation. Outcome Measures and Analysis: Using cafeteria audits, fidelity scores were calculated at baseline, intervention, and two weeks post-intervention for all schools. Fall Continued on page S94