- Email: [email protected]
O36: Principals' Attitudes Towards School Wellness
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior ● Volume 40, Number 4, July/August 2008 Supplement
O35 Farm to School Programs and Their Potential for Meeting School Food Service Goals
S37
O36 Principals’ Attitudes Towards School Wellness
Betty T. Izumi, MPH, RD, C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems, Michigan State University, Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies, 131 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI, 48824, [email protected]; Katherine Alaimo, PhD, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, G. Malcolm Trout Building, Room 302C, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, [email protected]; Michael W. Hamm, PhD, Departments of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies; Crop and Soil Sciences, Food Science and Nutrition, 312B Natural Resources, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1222, [email protected]
Marilyn Hughes, PhD, RD, Atlanta Public Schools, 130 Trinity Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30303, [email protected]; Marsha Davis, PhD, The University of Georgia, College of Public Health, Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, 317 Ramsey Center, Athens, GA 30602, [email protected]; James Hearn, PhD, The University of Georgia, Institute of Higher Education, Meigs Hall, Athens, GA 30602; Michael McLendon, PhD, Vanderbilt University, Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Peabody College, Nashville, TN 37203; Kiki S. Frazier, MS, RD, LD, Atlanta Public Schools, Nutrition Department, 130 Trinity Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30303; Leslie Rodriguez, MA, RD, LD, Atlanta Public Schools, Nutrition Department, 130 Trinity Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30303
Objective: The purpose of this study was to learn why school food service professionals (SFSPs), farmers, and food distributors participate in farm to school programs and how they characterize its opportunities and challenges. Design, Setting and Participants: A qualitative study was conducted with stakeholders participating in one of seven programs in the upper Midwest and Northeast regions of the United States. Seven SFSPs, seven farmers, and four food distributors were each interviewed twice and relevant documents were collected to cross-check findings and enhance validity of the results. Outcome Measures and Analysis: Data were analyzed using thematic codes and displays. This presentation focuses on the perspectives of SFSPs. Results: According to the qualitative analysis, SFSPs buy food directly from farmers and small-scale food distributors because doing so helps them to simultaneously meet the school food program’s financial and nutrition objectives. Vendor flexibility and relationships with farmers emerged as important variables that mediated this outcome. Supporting the local community and economy was seen as an ancillary but important benefit of buying locally grown food. The results of this research suggest that some of the benefits attributed to farm to school may be lost if smallscale food distributors and farmers are replaced with largescale distributors that rely on generic standards of food quality. Conclusions and Implications: Understanding SFSPs’ motivations for buying locally grown food is critical to the sustainability of this program. This project was funded by North Central Region-Sustainable Agriculture Research Education, Michigan State University (MSU) Graduate Fellowship Funds, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and the C.S. Mott Chair of Sustainable Agriculture Endowment at MSU.
Objective: To assess principals’ efforts to promote healthy nutrition among students, faculty, and staff. Design, Setting and Participants: In response to the USDA initiative that all schools have wellness policies, the Atlanta Public School (APS) district mandated that each school had to develop and implement their own Local School Wellness Plan. Each school was required to appoint a Local School Wellness Council, including the principal, serving as the originating locus for change. The details of the implementation plan of the Local Wellness Policy were left to the individual schools and their wellness councils, so it is inevitable that there will be variation in the specific nature of the reforms implemented at the different sites. Leadership, in particular, can be an important source of influence on the adoption of innovation. A web-based survey was distributed to all APS principals in the fall of 2006 and early 2007. Outcome Measures and Analysis: Survey questions included factors related to school wellness policies, specifically healthy eating policies, and decision-making. Descriptive statistics were generated, along with multivariate analysis of patterns in responses across different school settings. Results: Principals’ responses indicated they had favorable attitudes towards implementing wellness initiatives at their schools. The majority felt that developing a wellness plan was a good use of time and resources. However, many reported insufficient financial resources were major constraints for implementing healthy eating policies. Conclusions and Implications: Principal support is essential for healthy eating policy implementation at schools. Community partners may be able to provide schools with resources to assist them in overcoming financial barriers they face when implementing wellness policies.
O35 Farm to School Programs and Their Potential for Meeting School Food Service Goals
S37
O36 Principals’ Attitudes Towards School Wellness
Betty T. Izumi, MPH, RD, C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems, Michigan State University, Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies, 131 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI, 48824, [email protected]; Katherine Alaimo, PhD, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, G. Malcolm Trout Building, Room 302C, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, [email protected]; Michael W. Hamm, PhD, Departments of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies; Crop and Soil Sciences, Food Science and Nutrition, 312B Natural Resources, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1222, [email protected]
Marilyn Hughes, PhD, RD, Atlanta Public Schools, 130 Trinity Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30303, [email protected]; Marsha Davis, PhD, The University of Georgia, College of Public Health, Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, 317 Ramsey Center, Athens, GA 30602, [email protected]; James Hearn, PhD, The University of Georgia, Institute of Higher Education, Meigs Hall, Athens, GA 30602; Michael McLendon, PhD, Vanderbilt University, Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Peabody College, Nashville, TN 37203; Kiki S. Frazier, MS, RD, LD, Atlanta Public Schools, Nutrition Department, 130 Trinity Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30303; Leslie Rodriguez, MA, RD, LD, Atlanta Public Schools, Nutrition Department, 130 Trinity Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30303
Objective: The purpose of this study was to learn why school food service professionals (SFSPs), farmers, and food distributors participate in farm to school programs and how they characterize its opportunities and challenges. Design, Setting and Participants: A qualitative study was conducted with stakeholders participating in one of seven programs in the upper Midwest and Northeast regions of the United States. Seven SFSPs, seven farmers, and four food distributors were each interviewed twice and relevant documents were collected to cross-check findings and enhance validity of the results. Outcome Measures and Analysis: Data were analyzed using thematic codes and displays. This presentation focuses on the perspectives of SFSPs. Results: According to the qualitative analysis, SFSPs buy food directly from farmers and small-scale food distributors because doing so helps them to simultaneously meet the school food program’s financial and nutrition objectives. Vendor flexibility and relationships with farmers emerged as important variables that mediated this outcome. Supporting the local community and economy was seen as an ancillary but important benefit of buying locally grown food. The results of this research suggest that some of the benefits attributed to farm to school may be lost if smallscale food distributors and farmers are replaced with largescale distributors that rely on generic standards of food quality. Conclusions and Implications: Understanding SFSPs’ motivations for buying locally grown food is critical to the sustainability of this program. This project was funded by North Central Region-Sustainable Agriculture Research Education, Michigan State University (MSU) Graduate Fellowship Funds, Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and the C.S. Mott Chair of Sustainable Agriculture Endowment at MSU.
Objective: To assess principals’ efforts to promote healthy nutrition among students, faculty, and staff. Design, Setting and Participants: In response to the USDA initiative that all schools have wellness policies, the Atlanta Public School (APS) district mandated that each school had to develop and implement their own Local School Wellness Plan. Each school was required to appoint a Local School Wellness Council, including the principal, serving as the originating locus for change. The details of the implementation plan of the Local Wellness Policy were left to the individual schools and their wellness councils, so it is inevitable that there will be variation in the specific nature of the reforms implemented at the different sites. Leadership, in particular, can be an important source of influence on the adoption of innovation. A web-based survey was distributed to all APS principals in the fall of 2006 and early 2007. Outcome Measures and Analysis: Survey questions included factors related to school wellness policies, specifically healthy eating policies, and decision-making. Descriptive statistics were generated, along with multivariate analysis of patterns in responses across different school settings. Results: Principals’ responses indicated they had favorable attitudes towards implementing wellness initiatives at their schools. The majority felt that developing a wellness plan was a good use of time and resources. However, many reported insufficient financial resources were major constraints for implementing healthy eating policies. Conclusions and Implications: Principal support is essential for healthy eating policy implementation at schools. Community partners may be able to provide schools with resources to assist them in overcoming financial barriers they face when implementing wellness policies.