School Lunch Policies Research Articles

Thinking outside of the lunchbox: A narrative policy framework analysis of school lunch policies

AbstractThe National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is the second largest nutrition assistance program in the United States, subsidizing school day meals for nearly 30 million U.S. children, including over 287,000 in Oregon as of fiscal year 2019. A policy success story to some, the NSLP is not without critics or controversy. As discussions about childhood health and wellness have shifted toward food quality and equity, school lunch policy narratives have come under scrutiny. Leveraging participant observation, qualitative interviews, and survey data, this research explores Corvallis, Oregon school lunch policy, contrasting local and national policy perspectives. We draw on the Narrative Policy Framework and Cultural Theory (CT) to identify distinct food policy narratives among Corvallis stakeholders and across cultural groups. Our analysis found a predominantly egalitarian worldview among Corvallis stakeholders whose narratives feature children as victims, with community institutions and advocates in the roles of the heroes and/or villains. Sustainability and the value of market forces were identified as key themes in local and national school lunch narrative plots and morals.

The impacts of free school lunch policies on adolescent BMI and mental health: Evidence from a natural experiment in South Korea

In spring 2015, the South Korean province of South Gyeongsang stopped providing free school lunches to primary and secondary school students while large portions of schools in other provinces continued to provide free lunches at school. After the provincial government faced strong opposition, South Gyeongsang reintroduced the free-school-lunch program the very next year. Using a difference-in-differences design, we exploit these policy changes to evaluate their impact on students' body mass index (BMI) and on a measure related to students’ mental health status (MH). Our results show that the abolishment of free school lunches harmed (female) underweight students by causing additional weight losses of about 4.5 percent whereas the reintroduction of free school lunches led to an average weight loss of 2.1 percent among overweight students (both male and female). Moreover, the school lunch policy changes had significant impacts on our MH measure: crying without any reason increased when the free-school-lunch policy was abolished and it decreased when the policy was reintroduced. The results are of great interest to decision makers: introducing free school lunches helps to achieve healthier weights and decreases crying without any reason and as a result, benefits student welfare. Free-school-lunch policies, therefore, may provide simple and inexpensive means to improve the health and welfare of students.

Review: Stirrings: How Activist New Yorkers Ignited a Movement for Food Justice, by Lana Dee Povitz

Review: Stirrings: How Activist New Yorkers Ignited a Movement for Food Justice, by Lana Dee Povitz

Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) position statement: SBM supports retaining healthy school lunch policies.

Schools are recognized as venues for population-based health promotion and chronic disease prevention initiatives targeting children, and the school food environment is a central component. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 utilized research-based findings and expert recommendations to significantly improve school lunch standards in the kindergarten to twelfth grade (K-12) setting to enhance the nutritional intake and ultimately the health of children. The new guidelines include increasing the availability of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables; requiring children to select a fruit or vegetable daily; and restricting serving sizes. There is currently no evidence that the revised standards have increased school lunch plate waste. However, there is evidence that children are consuming more healthful foods. The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) supports retaining current school lunch standards set by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. SBM also supports increasing the evidence-based by evaluating the implementation and impact of the school lunch revisions.

Nutrient-based standards for school lunches complement food-based standards and improve pupils' nutrient intake profile

Following concerns about the nutritional content of school lunches and the increased prevalence of overweight and obesity in the UK, changes to the standards of school meals were made. From September 2008, all primary schools in England were required, by law, to be fully compliant with the new food-based standards (FBS) and nutrient-based standards (NBS) for school lunches. The aim of the present survey was to evaluate the introduction of the NBS for school lunches on the nutritional profile of food and drink items provided by schools and chosen by pupils at lunchtime. A nationally representative sample of 6696 pupils from 136 primary schools in England aged 3-12 years and having school lunches was recruited. Data were collected on lunchtime food and drink provision at each school and on pupil food and drink choices at lunchtime. Caterers also provided planned menus, recipes and other cooking information. Compliance with both the FBS and NBS was then assessed. Results show that even when the FBS was met, many schools did not provide a school lunch that met the NBS as well. The average school lunch eaten was significantly lower in fat, saturated fat and Na in schools that met both the FBS and NBS for school lunches compared with schools that met only the FBS. Change in school lunch policy has contributed to improvements in pupils' choices and the nutritional profile of foods selected at lunchtime.

Discourse Tracing as Qualitative Practice

This article introduces a qualitative research method called discourse tracing. Discourse tracing draws from contributions made by ethnographers, discourse critics, case study scholars, and process tracers. The approach offers new insights and an attendant language about how we engage in research designed specifically for the critical-interpretive and applied analysis of discourse. More specifically, discourse tracing analyzes the formation, interpretation, and appropriation of discursive practices across micro, meso, and macro levels. In doing so, the method provides a language for studying social processes, including the facilitation of change and the institution of new routines. The article describes the current theoretical and political landscape of qualitative methods and how discourse tracing can provide a particularly helpful methodological tool at this time. Then, drawing from a qualitative study on of school lunch policy, the authors explain how to practice discourse tracing in a step-by-step manner.

School Lunch Practices and Policies in Oklahoma Elementary Schools

School lunch policies and practices in Oklahoma were surveyed from a sample of 304 elementary schools randomly selected from the Education Department's database. Interviews with school personnel were conducted in September 2003 using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing. Questions included items on school lunch policy, vending machine use, and “junk food” policies. Response rate was 79% with a margin of error ± 4.73%. Responses were compared to national data from the School Health Policies and Programs Study. Fewer school districts had a district-wide food service coordinator (82%) than nationally (p=.001). Half of the coordinators (51%) had only a high school education and only 11% were registered dietitians. Nationally 20% of schools had a nutrition advisory board but only 7% of Oklahoma schools had a board (p<0.0001). Compared to national data, Oklahoma schools were less likely to offer more than one entrée per meal (p =.01), offer tastes of new foods (p =.03) or list nutrition information on menus (p<.000). Schools were more likely to have nutrition information in hallways (p<.000) and require fruits in a la carte lunches (p<.000). Vending machines were available for student use in 45% of schools. However, 14% of schools restricted junk food in vending machines: more than the national rate (p<0.0001). Schools with the fewest students receiving free or reduced lunch (p=0.004) or in metropolitan areas (p=0.002) were most likely to prohibit junk food in machines. Information on specific local practices and policies allow local newly mandated local nutrition committees to establish comparative benchmarks for their school's nutrition programs.

New Prevention Research Center Targets Diet, Physical Activity And Smoki Ns For Study Through Community-based Interventions In A Rural Midwest Population

Changing eating, exercise and smoking habits in rural midwest communities is a principal goal of the newly established Prevention Research Center. The Center, a partnership between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Saint Louis University School of Public Health and the Missouri Department of Health, is funded from 1994 through 1998.The Center pursues its mission - to prevent disease and disability in the rural midwest - through applied research to reduce cardiovascular disease in a high-risk population. This population consists of persons of lower socioeconomic status in a 12-county area of southeast Missouri, total population 217,000.In the major research study, Community-Based Intervention for Healthy Lifestyles, staff train local coalitions to implement interventions targeting fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity and cigarette smoking. Coalitions also mobilize communities to accept policy change related to these interventions.Diet-, exercise- and smoking-related outcome objectives are to increase fruit and vegetable intake to five or more servings per day by 6% (baseline: 20%), to increase physical activity by 8% (baseline: 39%), and to decrease cigarette smoking by 6% (baseline: 29%). Environmental and policy objectives include implementing school lunch policies to decrease fat to less than or equal to 30% total calories, increasing referrals for dietary change, enhancing media coverage of cardiovascular risk issues, building walking trails, and establishing local ordinances prohibiting tobacco sales to minors.The quasi-experimental study design allows us to match at the group level (intervention and comparison county pairings) and analyze at the individual level (personal interviews). Appropriate statistical techniques will be employed. Evaluation methods include phone surveys based on a Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System questionnaire, focus groups, a network analysis, level-of-effort analyses, and the FORECAST technique. Preliminary study results are expected in late 1995