FP9 Improving Vegetable Selection in Middle School Lunch Through Project SELECT: Student Engagement, Lunchroom Environment, and Culinary Training

Abstract

Objective To study the impact of culinary/operations and Smarter Lunchrooms training and technical assistance on the cafeteria nutrition environment and middle school students’ vegetable selection. Description The cafeteria environment and the vegetables served to students under the National School Lunch Program can positively impact students’ health and wellness. In Maryland's 2016 Team Nutrition grant, 23 middle schools were randomized to receive culinary/operations and Smarter Lunchroom training and technical assistance versus control (2:1 randomization). The culinary/operations training and technical assistance focused on maximizing efficiency and operations of vegetables and salads, vegetable cookery (roasting, steaming), and bundling vegetables with entree items. The Smarter Lunchroom activities focused on improving the oral communication and written marketing of vegetables along service line/cafeteria and taste testing of vegetables. Evaluation Production records for each school for a four week period were collected each spring (baseline and follow-up). Total vegetable selection and USDA vegetable sub-group selected were analyzed. An observational audit tool (Observation School Environment Checklist, OSEC) built from the smarter lunchroom scorecard, with face validity and inter-rater reliability determined, was completed at baseline/follow-up and included observations of the cafeteria environment, focusing on meal service, menus, and the service line. The cafeteria environment was given a score in atmosphere (n = 13 items), advertising (n = 16 items), accessibility (n = 11 items), attractiveness (n = 4 items), and a total score (n = 44 items). Conclusion and Implications The schools differ in the number of students that eat a reimbursable school lunch. Measured as the average daily participation of students, the range is 205 students to 1,000 students with the median of 471 students. Production records show, at baseline the ‘starchy’ vegetable overwhelmingly represents the number one selected vegetable subgroup (other subgroups include dark green, red/orange, and beans/peas/legumes, and other). Grant Year 2016