Impact of introducing a farm to school program on the number of school lunches served.

Farm to school (FTS) programs are becoming more prevalent throughout the United States. Yet, their impacts on students' behaviors are still not well understood. This study analyzes the impacts of introducing the local procurement aspect of a FTS program in a Florida school district on the number of National School Lunch Program (NSLP) meals served and the selection of salad meals prepared with FTS products using daily school-level point of sale (POS) data, product procurement records, NSLP menu data and linear panel regression analyses. The study district implemented the FTS program in 15 of its 22 elementary schools between mid-October of 2015 and mid-January of 2016. Weighted difference in differences regressions that account for the non-random assignment of the district's elementary schools into the FTS program and variation in the timing of implementation across schools indicate that the introduction of the FTS program did not affect the number of NSLP meals served or type of meals served at schools with FTS programs. We find some evidence that students selected more NSLP salad offerings on days when these meals were prepared with FTS products; however, these findings were no longer significant when school-level fixed effects were included in the model.

Perception versus preference: The role of self-assessed risk measures on individual mitigation behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the midst of a global pandemic, prevention methods stand as a crucial first step toward addressing the public health crisis and controlling the spread of the virus. However, slowing the spread of the virus hinges on the public's willingness to follow a combination of mitigation practices to avoid contracting and transmitting the disease. In this study, we investigate the factors related to individuals' risk perceptions associated with COVID-19 as well as their general self-assessed risk preferences. We also provide insights regarding the role of risk perceptions and preferences on mitigation behavior by examining the correlation between these risk measures and both the likelihood of following various mitigation practices and total number of practices followed. Although we find both risk perceptions and preferences to be significantly correlated with mitigation behaviors, risk perceptions are correlated with a larger number of practices. Additionally, we find significant heterogeneity in mitigation behaviors across numerous individual and household characteristics. These results can serve as a benchmark for the design and development of interventions to increase awareness and promote higher adoption of mitigation practices.

Students choosing fat-free chocolate milk during school lunch consume more calories, total sugar, protein, minerals and vitamins at lunch.

OBJECTIVE: To examine how milk consumption varies by milk choice and measure the association of milk choice on the nutritional and energetic content of National School Lunch Program (NSLP) lunches. DESIGN: An observational plate waste study using the Digital Photography of Foods Method. SETTING: Data were collected from two suburban South Carolina schools in one district during February and March 2013. PARTICIPANTS: Totally, 968 NSLP lunches selected by 619 kindergarten to fifth grade students. RESULTS: Most students chose chocolate milk (75 %). A multinomial logit model indicated milk choice varied significantly by sociodemographic characteristics. An ordinary least square regression indicated that consumption rates of low-fat white milk were 8·5 % lower than fat-free chocolate milk (P = 0·039) and milk consumption rates varied statistically by sociodemographic characteristics. Ordinary least square regressions found that the consumption of energies and nutrients from NSLP lunches varied with sociodemographic characteristics and milk choice; students selecting chocolate milk consumed 58 more energies (P < 0·001) and 10 more grams of total sugar (P < 0·001) than students selecting low-fat white milk from their NSLP lunches. Students consumed statistically similar energies and nutrients from the non-milk components of their meals. CONCLUSIONS: Students selecting chocolate milk consumed more energies and nutrients from their NSLP lunches with the increases in consumption attributed to the milk component of the meal. The findings have implications for recent changes to NSLP guidelines that allow schools to offer both low-fat and fat-free flavoured milk, reversing the previous ban on low-fat flavoured milk under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

Selection and consumption of lunches by National School Lunch Program participants.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to offer a variety of healthy food options each day. Using digital photography data collected from two suburban elementary schools in the spring of 2013, we examine NSLP participant's selection and consumption of all five NSLP lunch components ((1) milk, (2) vegetable, (3) fruit, (4) meat/meat alternate (MA), and (5) grain). We use logit regressions to analyze the selection of the various lunch components by race/ethnicity, gender, grade, and household income level. In addition, ordinary least squares regressions are used to analyze the selection and consumption of calories contained in the chosen lunch and by lunch component. Selection and consumption varied by race, ethnicity, gender, and eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch. For example, black students consumed fewer calories than white students, black and Hispanic students consumed fewer calories from milk than white students, and free and reduced-price lunch eligible students consumed more calories from milk and fewer calories from grains. Using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, we determine that school lunches are an important part of school-day food intake for NSLP participants. These results provide guidance for making changes within a cafeteria's offerings to increase the selection of healthy foods.

A Plate Waste Evaluation of the Farm to School Program.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impacts of the Farm to School (FTS) Program on the selection and consumption of fruits and vegetables. DESIGN: Plate waste data were recorded using the visual inspection method before and after implementation of the program. SETTING: Six elementary schools in Florida: 3 treatment and 3 control schools. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 11,262 meal observations of National School Lunch Program (NSLP) participants in grades 1-5. INTERVENTION: The FTS Program, specifically local procurement of NSLP offerings, began in treatment schools in November, 2015 after the researchers collected preintervention data. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The NSLP participants' selection and consumption of fruits and vegetables. ANALYSIS: Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U and proportions tests and difference-in-difference regressions. RESULTS: The NSLP participants at the treatment schools consumed, on average, 0.061 (P = .002) more servings of vegetables and 0.055 (P = .05) more servings of fruit after implementation of the FTS Program. When school-level fixed effects are included, ordinary least squares and tobit regression results indicated that NSLP participants at the treatment schools respectively consumed 0.107 (P < .001) and 0.086 (P < .001) more servings of vegetables, on average, after implementation of the FTS Program. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Local procurement positively affected healthy eating.