School foodservice managers’ positive support for school nutrition encourages healthy food environment

Abstract

ObjectiveOur objective is to understand school foodservice managers’ support for school nutrition programs and marketing strategies to promote an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption.MethodsData was collected using an online survey sent to all Oklahoma middle and junior high schools. The survey questions included the school and foodservice manager demographics, food‐service managers beliefs and perceptions of barriers to marketing strategies in school nutrition programs, what strategies schools were already using, successes in implementing nutrition marketing programs, and factors influencing decisions to change.Results98–100% of participants believed school nutrition was important to academic performance, and that it is the school foodservice's responsibility to provide healthy meals that appeal to students. The implementation of behavioral marketing strategies were seen in >;60% of schools, and even 33% of those using less popular strategies would continue their use. Financing impacted 86% of participants’ decisions to change, and delivery schedule of fruits and vegetables impacted 84% of decisions for change.ConclusionsSchool foodservice managers are highly committed to supporting school nutrition and are willing to implement (if not doing so already) marketing strategies to help promote healthy food choices for students.