Page Contents
Overview
Target Behavior: Healthy Eating
Intervention Type: Direct Education, Social Marketing, PSE Change
Intervention Reach and Adoption
Setting: School
Target Audience: Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Race/Ethnicity: All
Intervention Components
Intervention Materials
- Offer fruit in at least two locations on the serving line, one of which is right before the point of sale.
- Conduct vegetable taste tastes.
- Ensure while milk is organized and represents at least 1/3 of all available milk.
- Label pre-packaged salads or salad bar choices with creative, descriptive names and display next to each choice.
- Label fruits and vegetables with creative, descriptive names such as x-ray vision carrots or protein packed chickpeas.
- Bundle a reimbursable meal into a grab-and-go option and label it with a creative name like the Hungry Kid Meal.
https://www.smarterlunchrooms.org/scorecard
Webinars by Healthy Food Choices in Schools Community of Practice are available on topics related to improving school food:http://articles.extension.org/category/healthy_food_choices_in_schools_webinar
A 2-hour Training Module provides an overview of behavioral economic theory and application in a school lunchroom setting: https://cornell.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3CVLswwEZI5qdak
Using behavioral economics to improve meal selection in children in schools:
http://www.choicesmagazine.org/UserFiles/file/article_87.pdf
Evidence Summary
- When produce served in the lunchroom is from school gardens, consumption increases. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apa.13028/full
- Making healthy choices convenient, attractive, and normal, promotes intake.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mar.20794/abstract
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022347612014783
- Allowing children to have recess before lunch could increase fruit and vegetable intake.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743514004599
- When a main dish was prepared by a professional chef, children were more likely to select it as a main dish and vegetable consumption increased. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019566631400436X
- Removing chocolate milk from lunchrooms can have negative impact on lunch purchasing and overall milk consumption. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0091022
- Adding healthy foods to concession stands does not negatively impact sales and improves parent satisfaction. http://jpubhealth.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/03/12/pubmed.fdu015.full.pdf+html
- The quarter-waste method is most appropriate for evaluating tray waste in cafeterias. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212267213013373
- Nutrition report cards are feasible, inexpensive, and could nudge children towards healthier choices.http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0072008
- Sliced fruit is more appealing to children than whole fruit. http://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(13)00105-0/abstract
- A convenience line with healthy foods “nudged” students away from unhealthy foods. http://jpubhealth.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/01/31/pubmed.fds003.full
Evaluation types vary by study.
Classification: Research-tested
Evaluation Indicators
Readiness and Capacity – Short Term (ST) | Changes – Medium Term (MT) | Effectiveness and Maintenance – Long Term (LT) | Population Results (R) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Individual | ST1 | MT1 | LT1 | |
Environmental Settings | ST5, ST6, ST7 | MT5 | LT5, LT7, LT8, LT10 | |
Sectors of Influence |
Evaluation Materials
Additional Information
Contact Person:
Heidi Kessler
Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs
Email: Hk887@cornell.edu
Phone: (607) 255-7822