Perceived reactions of elementary school students to changes in school lunches after implementation of the United States Department of Agriculture's new meals standards: minimal backlash, but rural and socioeconomic disparities exist.

Lindsey Turner,Frank J Chaloupka

doi:10.1089/chi.2014.0038

Lindsey Turner, Frank J Chaloupka

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2014.0038

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Abstract

Updated standards for meals sold through the USDA's National School Lunch Program took effect at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year. The current study assessed the perceptions of school staff regarding student reactions to these changes in school lunches and how perceptions varied across schools. Mailback surveys were gathered from administrators and food service staff at a nationally representative sample of 557 US public elementary schools in the second half of the 2012-2013 school year. Half of the respondents (56.4%) agreed that students complained about the meals at first, but 70% agreed that students like the new lunches. Perceived student complaints were significantly higher among respondents from rural schools (n=184) than from urban (n=127) or suburban (n=171) schools. Respondents at rural schools also were more likely to report that they perceived that fewer students were purchasing the meals and that students were consuming less of the meals than during the previous year. Perceived student complaints were higher at schools not offering regular (i.e., higher-fat) pizza. Respondents at socioeconomically disadvantaged schools (>66% of students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals) perceived that more students were buying lunch and that students were eating more of the meal than in the previous year. Perceptions of school personnel suggest reasonable acceptance of school lunches subsequent to revisions. Given the importance of offering healthful foods at school, the revised USDA meals standards are a promising strategy to improve the diets of children.

Highlights

Most US children’s diets exceed recommended levels of sugar, fat, and sodium[1] and are deficient in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.[2,3,4] Given the documented role of foods and beverages consumed at school in contributing to children’s excessive intake of solid fats and added sugars,[5] the school food environment has received much attention recently
The majority of US public schools participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), which is administered by the USDA, and provided meals to 31 million students in 2012.7 Until recently, USDA meals standards had not been
The current data indicate a decrease in the prevalence of regular pizza in school lunches: In 2006–2007, we found that 98% of public elementary schools offered pizza on some or most days.[27]

Summary

Introduction

Most US children’s diets exceed recommended levels of sugar, fat, and sodium[1] and are deficient in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.[2,3,4] Given the documented role of foods and beverages consumed at school in contributing to children’s excessive intake of solid fats and added sugars,[5] the school food environment has received much attention recently. Dietary Assessment Study-IV in 2009–2010 showed that elementary school lunches as offered and served exceeded recommendations for average percentage of daily calories from solid fats and added sugars and fell short of recommended daily amounts of vegetables and whole grains.[6]. The updated USDA standards for lunches[11] required that by 2012–2013 half of grains offered must be whole-grain– rich products, with phase-in so that by 2014–2015 all grains are whole-grain rich. Both a fruit and a vegetable must be offered daily, with a variety of vegetables to be served within a week, including dark green vegetables, red/orange vegetables, legumes, starches, and other vegetables. The current study assessed the perceptions of school staff regarding student reactions to these changes in school lunches and how perceptions varied across schools

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