Impact of Nutrition and Culinary In‐service Training on School Food Service Employee Knowledge and Efficacy

Abstract

As part of a Coordinated School Health Program project to improve the nutrition quality of school meals, a series of nutrition education and culinary training in‐service workshops were conducted. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the training on food service employees' nutrition knowledge and self‐efficacy scores. The subjects were 12 food service employees from a rural school district in East Tennessee. Three 2‐hour in‐service workshops followed by a full day workshop were planned and conducted by a registered dietitian, chef, and public health nutrition graduate student. Pre‐ and post‐ questionnaires were administered to participants. The mean scores of each section of the questionnaires were calculated and compared using paired sample t‐tests. The results showed a significant increase in employees' nutrition knowledge scores (p = .020). Employees' self‐efficacy regarding their ability to prepare foods lower in fat and to prepare fruits and vegetables was significantly improved (p=.005 and p<.000, respectively) as well. Targeted nutrition education and demonstrations of culinary techniques are important initial strategies prior to implementing healthier school menus. After implementation, further research will be conducted to determine if participants' preparation methods improve.