Comparing Diet Quality of School Meals versus Food Brought from Home

Everitt, Tracy; Engler‐Stringer, Rachel; Martin, Wanda; Vatanparast, Hassanali

doi:10.3148/cjdpr-2020-013

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Our team’s previous observational research on school food in and around Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, characterized lunches using a school food checklist and digital photography in randomly selected urban schools with a meal program (n=3), urban schools without a meal program (n=3), and rural schools without a meal program (n=3) [ 50 ]. The number of servings of each CFG food group was determined and compared with one-third of the recommended daily intake.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Good Food for Learning Universal Curriculum-Integrated Healthy School Lunch Intervention: Protocol for a Two-Year Matched Control Pre-Post and Case Study

Engler‐Stringer¹,

Black²,

Muhajarine³

et al. 2021

JMIR Res Protoc

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Background Good nutrition affects children’s health, well-being, and learning, and schools offer an important setting to promote healthy behaviors that can last a lifetime. Once children reach school age, they spend more of their waking hours in school than in any other environment. Children’s eating habits may be easier to influence than those of adults. In Canada, households with children are more likely to experience food insecurity, and school food programs that are universally available to all children can support the development of healthy eating patterns across groups of varying socioeconomic status. There is a significant gap in the rigorous community-engaged academic research on the impact of school meal programs, especially universal ones. Objective The aim of this population health intervention research is to study the impact of a 2-year universal, curriculum-integrated healthy school lunch program in elementary schools in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, on food consumption, dietary quality and food and nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Methods This population health intervention study will be conducted in 2 intervention elementary schools matched with 2 control schools. We will collect preintervention data, including objective measurements of food eaten at school and food-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. This will be followed by the intervention itself, along with qualitative case studies of the intervention process in the 2 intervention schools. Then, we will collect postintervention data similar to the preintervention data. Finally, we will finish the data analysis and complete the ongoing sharing of learning from the project. Results This study was funded in April 2020 but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, data collection did not begin until May 2021. The intervention will begin in September 2021 and end in June 2023, with end point data collection occurring in May and June 2023. The case study research will begin in September 2021 and will be ongoing for the duration of the intervention. Conclusions The opportunity we have to systematically and comprehensively study a curriculum-integrated school lunch program, as well as the promising practices for school food programs across Canada, is without precedent. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/30899

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Good Food for Learning Universal Curriculum-Integrated Healthy School Lunch Intervention: Protocol for a Two-Year Matched Control Pre-Post and Case Study

Engler‐Stringer¹,

Black²,

Muhajarine³

et al. 2021

JMIR Res Protoc

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One advantage of using a composite measure like the Healthy Eating Index is that it looks beyond health components to consider minimally nutritious foods, sodium, and saturated fat. When looking at school-aged children's diets during the school day, it is important to examine both healthy and minimally nutritious components, because over thirty percent of calories come from minimally nutritious foods (Everitt et al, 2020b;Tugault-Lafleur et al, 2017).…”

Section: Social Determinants Of Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proposing a Framework for School Food Program Evaluation in Canada

Everitt¹,

Ward

Martin³

et al. 2022

CanFoodStudies

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Healthy eating in school-aged children supports optimal growth and learning; however, diet quality and food insecurity are a source of concern for many school-aged children in Canada. Canadian school-aged children’s diets are a concern. In 2019 the Canadian federal government announced the intention to work towards a National School Food Program. A nationally organized program can evolve and meet the needs of children if there is a national evaluation strategy developed along with the program. A scoping review published in 2019 consisted of reports of school food programs in Canada evaluating nutritional impacts and food system sustainability. Food system sustainability recognizes the full impact that school food programs can have on individual, community, and environmental health by integrating social determinants of health, food systems, and economic sustainability. We conducted a content analysis of the evaluation strategies of these programs. Of the 17 peer-reviewed and 18 grey literature publications in the initial scoping review, 12 peer-reviewed and seven grey literature publications contained an evaluation component. Components assessed social determinants of health, including changes in food intake, knowledge about local foods, educational and behavioural outcomes, general knowledge, intention to eat, and willingness to try new foods. An evaluation template for school food programs including categories for social systems, environmental and economic sustainability would capture elements contributing to program impact.

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“…Healthy eating is vital for optimal growth, development, and academic achievement (Faught et al, 2016;Roustit et al, 2010). However, the diet quality of school-aged children during the school day is poor (Everitt et al, 2020b;Tugault-Lafleur et al, 2017). Fewer than half of Canadian children aged 12 to 19 years consume five or more servings of vegetables and fruit daily (Statistics Canada), and almost one quarter of calories in the diets of nine to 18 year-olds come from minimally nutritious foods (Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion, 2007).…”

Section: Healthy Foodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Operationalizing sustainable food systems through food programs in elementary schools

Everitt¹,

Engler‐Stringer

Martin³

2022

CanFoodStudies

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Healthy eating supports optimal growth, development, and academic achievement. Yet, the diet quality of school-aged children is poor. Food insecurity and chronic disease are concerns, as are unsustainable agricultural practices. Sustainable food systems have a low environmental impact and can address both dietary and sustainability concerns. This multi-case study was conducted in two Community Schools in a mid-sized Canadian city. Data was collected through interviews, observations, a checklist, and curriculum and policy review. The purpose of this study was to understand the capacity of local elementary schools to implement sustainable food systems strategies in curriculum, policy, and practice. Teachers were doing some cooking and gardening with students, and schools were doing some recycling. There were no specific food policies. Infrastructure challenges varied by school. Insufficient funding and curriculum resources were seen as barriers to implementing sustainable food systems. Staff characteristics and relationships were seen as facilitators. Schools can be positioned to be strong leaders in the area of school food by prioritizing food literacy and sustainable food system strategies and developing supportive policies, including community members and students in programming, and including experiential food production opportunities for all students.

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Comparing Diet Quality of School Meals versus Food Brought from Home

Cited by 10 publications

References 31 publications

The Good Food for Learning Universal Curriculum-Integrated Healthy School Lunch Intervention: Protocol for a Two-Year Matched Control Pre-Post and Case Study

The Good Food for Learning Universal Curriculum-Integrated Healthy School Lunch Intervention: Protocol for a Two-Year Matched Control Pre-Post and Case Study

Proposing a Framework for School Food Program Evaluation in Canada

Operationalizing sustainable food systems through food programs in elementary schools

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