A Qualitative Study of School Food Service Directors on the Impact of the Texas School Nutrition Policy

AbstractObjectiveThe present study investigates whether public organic food procurement policies have the potential to induce changes in the school food service environment.DesignA comparative cross-national survey was conducted in public primary and/or secondary schools in Finland, Germany and Italy. The school food coordinators completed a web-based questionnaire on their attitudes, intentions and actions towards organic school food provision.SettingIn Germany, 122 out of 2050 schools in the state of Hesse responded. In Finland, 250 out of 998 schools across the country responded. In Italy, 215 out of 940 schools from eight provinces responded.SubjectsSchool food coordinators in the sample of schools in the three countries.ResultsThe German and Finnish school food coordinators separately most agreed with the promotion of healthy eating habits (P < 0·001) and organic food (P < 0·001) by schools. The Finnish schools were most likely to adopt a food and nutrition policy (P < 0·001), a health-promoting school policy according to WHO principles (P < 0·001), to have a playground (P < 0·001), to involve physical activity themes in teaching (P = 0·012) and to have a canteen (P < 0·001). The Italian schools were most likely to involve the food and nutrition policy in pedagogical activities (P = 0·004), to serve nutritional school meals (P < 0·001) and to recommend children to eat healthily (P < 0·001). In the three countries, the non-organic schools were less likely to adopt a food and nutrition policy (P < 0·001), a WHO health-promoting policy (P < 0·001) and have a canteen (P = 0·017) than the organic schools.ConclusionsThe study suggests that there is a gap in the effects of public organic food procurement policy on building a healthier school food environment.

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A Qualitative Study on Factors that Affect School Lunch Participation: Perspectives of School Food Service Managers and Cooks

Journal of Nutrition and Health ◽

10.13188/2469-4185.1000010 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Food Service ◽

School Lunch ◽

School Food ◽

School Food Service ◽

Food Service Managers ◽

Service Managers

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Feeding others' children : a comparative ethnography of school food service employees and how they make meaning

10.32469/10355/57367 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Ashley D. Vancil-Leap

Keyword(s):

Participant Observation ◽

Food Service ◽

The United States ◽

School Nutrition ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Regulatory Structure ◽

School Food ◽

Service Employees ◽

School Food Service ◽

Food Service Employees

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Utilizing 18 months of participant observation, 25 in-depth interviews and numerous textual sources, this research is an ethnography at an elementary, middle, and high school looking at how school food service employees (i.e. lunch ladies) make meaning out of this low-status, low-paying occupation in the context of changes to federal policies on school nutrition. Overall, I argue that lunch ladies use care work as resources in mundane, yet unique, ways even as their work is shaped and constrained by the financial and regulatory structure changes of the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. The goal is to show how food, femininity and labor are interrelated to produce inequalities, as well as, create opportunities for equality. Consequently, this project possesses social, cultural, and policy implications by analyzing an invisible group that provides service to every school in the United States and who influence student's school food choices.

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