Food procurement in English-language Canadian public schools: Opportunities and challenges

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-99
Author(s):  
Shawna Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
English Language ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
School Food ◽  
Provincial Level ◽  
School Food Environment

This paper examines the changes to procurement for school food environments in Canada as a response to changes to nutrition regulations at the provincial level. Interviews with those working in school food environments across Canada revealed how changes to the nutrition requirements of foods and beverages sold in schools presented opportunities to not only improve the nutrient content of the items made available in school food environments, but also to include local producers and/or school gardens in procuring for the school food environment. At the same time, some schools struggle to procure nutritionally compliant foods due to increased costs associated with transporting produce to rural, remote, or northern communities as well as logistic difficulties like spoilage. Although the nutrition regulations have facilitated improvements to food environments in some schools, others require more support to improve the overall nutritional quality of the foods and beverages available to students at school.

scholarly journals Disparities in the Healthfulness of School Food Environments and the Nutritional Quality of School Lunches

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2375
Author(s):  
Sarah Bardin ◽  
Liana Washburn ◽  
Elizabeth Gearan
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Ethnic Composition ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
School Lunches ◽  
School Food ◽  
Competitive Foods ◽  
School Food Environment ◽  
Racial Ethnic

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA), a public law in the United States passed in 2010, sought to improve the healthfulness of the school food environment by requiring updated nutrition standards for school meals and competitive foods. Studies conducted since the passage of the HHFKA indicate improvements in the food environment overall, but few studies have examined whether these improvements varied by the socioeconomic and racial/ethnic composition of students in schools. To better understand the extent of disparities in the school food environment after HHFKA, this paper examined differences in the healthfulness of school food environments and the nutritional quality of school lunches by the school poverty level and racial/ethnic composition of students using data from the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study. Results from chi-square analyses showed lower proportions of high poverty, majority black, and majority Hispanic schools had access to competitive foods, while higher proportions of these schools had a school wellness policy in addition to a district wellness policy. The overall nutritional quality of school lunches, as measured by total Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2010 scores, did not vary significantly across school types, although some HEI component scores did. From these findings, we concluded that there were disparities in the school food environment based on the socioeconomic and racial/ethnic composition of students in schools, but no significant disparities in the overall nutritional quality of school lunches were found.

scholarly journals Do Parental Perceptions of the Nutritional Quality of School Meals Reflect the Food Environment in Public Schools?

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (20) ◽  
pp. 10764
Author(s):  
Sarah Martinelli ◽  
Francesco Acciai ◽  
Michael J. Yedidia ◽  
Punam Ohri-Vachaspati
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Multivariable Analysis ◽  
Parental Perceptions ◽  
School Meals ◽  
School Food ◽  
Vending Machines ◽  
Reported Data

(1) Background: It is unknown whether parents’ perception of school meals, a determinant of student meal participation, align with the nutritional quality of meals served in schools. This study compares the healthfulness of foods offered in schools with parental perception of school meals at those same schools. (2) Method: Parents were asked to rate the healthfulness of school meals at their child’s school. Data on the types of foods offered were collected from public schools in four cities in New Jersey and matched with parent-reported data. Measures were developed to capture the presence of healthy and unhealthy items in the National School Lunch Program and the presence of a la carte offerings as well as vending machines. Multivariable analysis examined the association between parental perceptions of school meals and the school food measures after adjusting for covariates. (3) Results: Measures of the school food environment and parental perceptions were available for 890 pre-K to 12th grade students. No significant associations were observed between parental perceptions and food environment measures when examined one by one or in a comprehensive model. (4) Conclusions: Parents’ perception of the healthfulness of meals served do not align with the nutritional quality of foods offered at schools.

scholarly journals School-based intervention that integrates nutrition education and supportive healthy school food environment among Malaysian primary school children: a study protocol

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Choon Huey Teo ◽  
Yit Siew Chin ◽  
Poh Ying Lim ◽  
Shahril Azian Haji Masrom ◽  
Zalilah Mohd Shariff
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Nutrition Education ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
School Children ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Intervention Programme ◽  
School Food ◽  
School Food Environment

Abstract Background Malnutrition among school children may contribute to adverse health consequences such as non-communicable diseases, poor cognitive performance, psychological distress and poor quality of life that may persist into adulthood. In order to prevent childhood malnutrition, an intervention programme that integrates nutrition education and healthy school food environment is needed to provide nutrition information and reinforce the skills on healthy eating behaviours in schools. This paper describes a study protocol of a school-based intervention programme that integrates nutrition education and healthy school food environment, namely School Nutrition Programme (SNP). The SNP is a primary prevention programme that promotes healthy lifestyle among primary school children in light of the high prevalence of malnutrition in Malaysian children. Methods/design This quasi-experimental study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the SNP between intervention and comparison groups before and after the SNP, and after a 3-month follow-up. The SNP consisted of two main components, whereby three nutrition education sessions were implemented by trained teachers using three standardised modules, and healthy school food environment was implemented by the canteen food handlers with the provision of healthy menu to children during school recess times. Children from intervention group participated in the SNP, in addition to the standard Physical and Health Curriculum. The comparison group attended only the standardised Physical and Health Curriculum and the school canteen food handlers were reminded to follow the standard canteen guidelines from the Ministry of Education Malaysia. The assessment parameters in evaluating the effectiveness of the programme were knowledge, attitude and practice on nutrition, eating behaviours, physical activity, body composition, psychological distress, cognitive performance and health-related quality of life. Assessments were conducted at three time points: pre-intervention, post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. Discussion It was hypothesised that the SNP would be effective in promoting healthy lifestyle among school children, and further contributes in preventing malnutrition problem, enhancing cognitive performance and improving health-related quality of life among school children. Findings of the present study can be expanded to other schools in future on ways to improve nutrition education and healthy school food environment. Trial registration UMIN Clinical Trial Registration UMIN000032914 (Date of registration: 7th June 2018, retrospectively registered). Protocol version 16th September 2019 & Version 4

scholarly journals Do schools in Quebec foster healthy eating? An overview of associations between school food environment and socio-economic characteristics

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 1635-1646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Morin ◽  
Karine Demers ◽  
Éric Robitaille ◽  
Alexandre Lebel ◽  
Sherri Bisset
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
School Food ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
School Food Environment ◽  
Deprived Areas

AbstractObjectiveA school environment that encourages students to opt for food with sound nutritional value is both essential and formative in ensuring that young people adopt healthy eating habits. The present study explored the associations between the socio-economic characteristics of the school environment and the school food environment.DesignA cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2008–2009. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed on data from public primary and secondary schools.SettingQuebec, Canada. The school food offering was observed directly and systematically by trained research assistants. Interviews were conducted to fully describe food offerings in the schools and schools’ child-care services.SubjectsA two-stage stratified sampling was used to build a representative sample of 143 French-speaking public schools. The response rate was 66·2 %.ResultsThe primary and secondary schools in low-density areas were more likely to be located near diners (primary:P=0·018; secondary:P=0·007). The secondary schools in deprived areas were less likely to have a regular food committee (P=0·004), to seek student input on menu choices (P=0·001) or to have a long lunch period (P=0·010). The primary schools in deprived areas were less likely to have a food service (P=0·025) and their meal periods were shorter (P=0·033).ConclusionsThe schools in areas with lower socio-economic status provided an environment less favourable for a healthy diet. From a public health perspective, the results of this analysis could assist policy makers and managers to identify actions to support the creation of favourable school environments.

Are campus food environments healthy? A novel perspective for qualitatively evaluating the nutritional quality of food sold at foodservice facilities at a Brazilian university

2016 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isadora Santos Pulz ◽  
Paula Andréa Martins ◽  
Charles Feldman ◽  
Marcela Boro Veiros
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Food Ingredients ◽  
Nutrition Environment ◽  
Food And Beverage

Aims: The purpose of this novel study was to evaluate the food environment at a Brazilian university, encompassing 6 restaurants and 13 snack bars. The investigation uniquely analyses the food environment (barriers, facilitators, type of foods and prices). This was a food-based analysis of the nutritional quality of the products sold on campus. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used, applying the classic Nutrition Environment Measures Survey–Restaurants (NEMS-R) adapted for Brazil and an original methodology to evaluate and classify qualitatively the nutritional quality and characteristics of the food. A census of all campus food environments was applied. Results: The main results show most food and beverage products were made with processed ingredients and had a lower nutritional quality and price when compared with similar products made on premises, that is, processed iced tea compared with fresh tea ( p < .001), fried refined flour salgados compared with baked wholegrain flour salgados ( p < .001) and refined flour biscuits compared with those made with whole grains ( p = .028). Only 16% of the outlets provided food ingredients or nutritional information of products available. Conclusion: The overall options for healthy food choices and good nutritional quality on campus were mostly limited by the availability and higher prices of products. These findings could be used to develop new policy perspectives for the offering of healthy food items and to facilitate better food choices among students in a healthier food environment.

scholarly journals A Systematic Review on Socioeconomic Differences in the Association between the Food Environment and Dietary Behaviors

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joreintje D. Mackenbach ◽  
Kyra G. M. Nelissen ◽  
S. Coosje Dijkstra ◽  
Maartje P. Poelman ◽  
Joost G. Daams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Dietary Behavior ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
Socioeconomic Differences ◽  
School Food ◽  
Food Stores ◽  
Adolescents And Adults ◽  
School Food Environment ◽  
Objectively Measured

Little is known about socioeconomic differences in the association between the food environment and dietary behavior. We systematically reviewed four databases for original studies conducted in adolescents and adults. Food environments were defined as all objective and perceived aspects of the physical and economic food environment outside the home. The 43 included studies were diverse in the measures used to define the food environment, socioeconomic position (SEP) and dietary behavior, as well as in their results. Based on studies investigating the economic (n = 6) and school food environment (n = 4), somewhat consistent evidence suggests that low SEP individuals are more responsive to changes in food prices and benefit more from healthy options in the school food environment. Evidence for different effects of availability of foods and objectively measured access, proximity and quality of food stores on dietary behavior across SEP groups was inconsistent. In conclusion, there was no clear evidence for socioeconomic differences in the association between food environments and dietary behavior, although a limited number of studies focusing on economic and school food environments generally observed stronger associations in low SEP populations. (Prospero registration: CRD42017073587)

scholarly journals ‘It’s Hard to Make Good Choices and It Costs More’: Adolescents’ Perception of the External School Food Environment

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1043
Author(s):  
Colette Kelly ◽  
Mary Callaghan ◽  
Saoirse Nic Gabhainn
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Food Choice ◽  
Discussion Groups ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
School Food ◽  
Price Discounts ◽  
Food Outlets ◽  
School Food Environment ◽  
The Impact

Research on the impact of school and community food environments on adolescent food choice is heavily reliant on objective rather than subjective measures of food outlets around schools and homes. Gaining the perspective of adolescents and how they perceive and use food environments is needed. The aim of this study was to explore adolescent’s perception and use of the food environment surrounding their schools. Purposive sampling was used to recruit schools. Mapping exercises and discussion groups were facilitated with 95 adolescents from six schools. Thematic analysis showed that adolescents are not loyal to particular shops but are attracted to outlets with price discounts, those with ‘deli’ counters and sweets. Cost, convenience and choice are key factors influencing preference for food outlets and foods. Quality, variety and health were important factors for adolescents but these features, especially affordable healthy food, were hard to find. Social factors such as spending time with friends is also an important feature of food environments that deserves further attention. Adolescents’ perceptions of their food environment provide insights into features that can be manipulated to enable healthy choices.

scholarly journals Associations between School Food Environments, Body Mass Index and Dietary Intakes among Regional School Students in Victoria, Australia: A Cross-Sectional Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (16) ◽  
pp. 2916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Alston ◽  
Nicholas Crooks ◽  
Claudia Strugnell ◽  
Liliana Orellana ◽  
Steven Allender ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Dietary Intake ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
Dietary Intakes ◽  
Healthy Weight ◽  
School Students ◽  
School Food ◽  
School Food Environment ◽  
The Relationship

(1) Background: Childhood overweight and obesity is a significant and preventable problem worldwide. School environments have been suggested to be plausible targets for interventions seeking to improve the quality of children’s dietary intake. The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which the current characteristics of the school food environment were associated with primary school students’ dietary intake and Body Mass Index (BMI) z scores in a representative sample in regional Victoria. (2) Methods: This study included 53 schools, comprising a sample of 3,496 students in year levels two (aged 7–8 years), four (9–10 years) and six (11–12 years). Year four and six students completed dietary questionnaires. Principals from each school completed a survey on school food environment characteristics. Mixed-effects logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between students’ dietary intake and school food environment scores, controlling for confounders such as socio-economic status, school size and sex. Food environment scores were also analysed against the odds of being healthy weight (defined as normal BMI z score). (3) Results: Mixed associations were found for the relationship between students’ dietary intake and food environment scores. Meeting the guidelines for vegetable intake was not associated with food environment scores, but students were more likely (OR: 1.68 95% CI 1.26, 2.24) to meet the guidelines if they attended a large school (>300 enrolments) and were female (OR: 1.28 95% CI: 1.02, 1.59). Healthy weight was not associated with school food environment scores, but being a healthy weight was significantly associated with less disadvantage (OR: 1.24 95% CI 1.05, 1.45). Conclusion: In this study, the measured characteristics of school food environments did not have strong associations with dietary intakes or BMI among students.

scholarly journals Urban food environments in Africa: implications for policy and research

2019 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Holdsworth ◽  
Edwige Landais
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
Animal Products ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Animal Fats

Africa is currently experiencing rapid urbanisation impacting on people's food environments and dietary habits. Such changes are associated with higher prevalence of obesity coexisting with undernutrition. The present paper provides an overview of the healthiness of African urban food environments. We discuss the ways that food environments can be characterised and summarise the methods that can be used to investigate and intervene in the food environment. Data for Africa over a 50-year period (1961–2013) suggest an increasing availability of energy, animal products, fruit and vegetables, vegetable oils, sugar and sweeteners but a decrease in animal fats. There is a lack of evidence about how social, physical and macro-environments drive dietary habits in urban Africa, as most research has focused on the individual level. Examining how food consumption is embedded in everyday life, by investigating social environments is crucial to developing effective interventions. The informal food sector plays an important role in the retail food environment. Macro-level food price changes are an important factor influencing nutritional quality of African diets. The rapid expansion of food/beverages advertising in Africa threatens traditional food habits. Liberalisation of food trade is already impacting on the nutritional quality of food available. Improving African food environments represents a pressing public health concern and has the potential to prevent all forms of malnutrition. Hence, by conducting research into the role of urban social, physical and macro-environments, emerging interventions and policies are likely to positively impact on nutritional status, thereby enhancing social and economic development.

scholarly journals Measurement Methods Used to Assess the School Food Environment: A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 1623 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhan O’Halloran ◽  
Gabriel Eksteen ◽  
Mekdes Gebremariam ◽  
Laura Alston
Keyword(s):  
Food Environment ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Global Studies ◽  
School Food ◽  
Quality Ratings ◽  
Group Methods ◽  
Medium Quality ◽  
School Food Environment ◽  
Primary Focus

Children consume approximately half of their total daily amount of energy at school. Foods consumed are often energy-dense, nutrient-poor. The school food environment represents an effective setting to influence children’s food choices when dietary habits are established and continue to track into adulthood. The aim of this review was to: (1) group methods used for assessing the school food environment according to four food environment dimensions: Physical, economic, socio-cultural and policy and (2) assess the quality of the methods according to four criteria: Comprehensiveness, relevance, generalizability and feasibility. Three databases were searched, and studies were used to assess food and beverages provided at school canteens, tuck shops or cafeterias were included. The review identified 38 global studies (including 49 methods of measuring the food environment). The physical environment was the primary focus for 47% of articles, aspects of policy environment was assessed by 37% articles and a small number of studies assessed the economic (8%) and socio cultural (8%) environment. Three methods were rated ‘high’ quality and seven methods received ‘medium’ quality ratings. The review revealed there are no standardized methods used to measure the school food environment. Robust methods to monitor the school food environment across a range of diverse country contexts is required to provide an understanding of obesogenic school environments.

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