The perception of school food-service professionals on the implementation of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010: a mixed-methods study

Abstract

ObjectiveTo: (i) understand the nutrition attitudes, self-efficacy, knowledge and practices of school food-service personnel (SFP) in Nebraska and (ii) identify potential barriers that schools face in offering healthy school meals that meet the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrition standards.DesignConvergent parallel mixed-methods study.SettingKindergarten–12th grade schools in Nebraska, USA.ParticipantsSFP (260 survey participants; fifteen focus group participants) working at schools that participate in the USDA National School Lunch Program.ResultsMixed-methods themes identified include: (i) ‘Mixed attitudes towards healthy meals’, which captured a variety of conflicting positive and negative attitudes depending on the situation; (ii) ‘Positive practices to promote healthy meals’, which captured offering, serving and promotion practices; (iii) ‘Mixed nutrition-related knowledge’, which captured the variations in knowledge depending on the nutrition concept; and (iv) ‘Complex barriers’, which captured challenges with time, support and communication.ConclusionsThe study produced relevant findings to address the barriers identified by SFP. Implementing multicomponent interventions and providing training to SFP may help reduce some of the identified barriers of SFP.

Changing young people’s food-related behaviour: a socio-ecological perspective

“…On the provider side of the school food environment, a lack of support for school food-service professionals for creating healthier food environments is reported by Rida et al . ( 13 ) in this issue.…”

“…In the school environment, students' involvement in school initiatives supporting healthier food choices is considered important, yet a study in the Netherlands showed that students were reluctant to get involved as they felt their input was not valued (18) . On the provider side of the school food environment, a lack of support for school food-service professionals for creating healthier food environments is reported by Rida et al (13) in this issue.…”

“…Five articles (9)(10)(11)(12)(13) in this issue of Public Health Nutrition highlight a range of issues related to the food environment and educational settings, and it is worthwhile to consider how the results of the different studies could contribute to the ongoing discourse about the food environment in and around schools and how individuals act in and interact with this environment.…”