Progress 04/01/23 to 03/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The study involves 20 elementary schools in Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) in California. In Spring 2023 the research team collected baseline school lunch plate and solid wasta data for two days at each of the 20 schools before the intervention was launched. The intervention involves scratch-cooking up to 40% of school lunch items in all 20 schools and utilizing reuseable serviceware in 10 interventions schools. Scratch-cooked preparation of meals takes place on a daily basis at the school site or in a central kitchen, using whole ingredients in their most basic, minimally processed form, or cooking with both fresh, raw, whole ingredients and ready-made products. Reuseable serviceware includes use of metal trays and eating utensils for school lunch. In addition, plastic straws for milk are eliminated and condiments are provided in bulk dispensers instead of individual plastic-wrapped disposable servings. In Fall/Winter 2023, our nutrition education team promoted the intervention at back-to-school nights and delivered nutrition education to 4th and 5th grade classes at the 10 intervention schools. In Spring 2024 we are in the process of collecting follow-up plate and solid waste data at each of the 20 schools. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A total of 6 students (undergraduate and graduate) were trained on our plate and solid waste protocols. Our solid waste protocol was newly developed for this study, providing a unique development opportunity for our research staff and participating students. Our students came from different institutions, a UCSF Dietetic Intern, two San Jose State University undergraduates, two UC Berkeley graduate students, and one UC Berkeley undergraduate. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?As described earlier, C Felix co-presented with BSchlieferfrom Center for Environmental Health and S Willits from Fremont USD at theCalifornia Resource and Recovery Association (CRRA) Conferencein-person in Burlingame, CA on 8/15/23 an invitedtalk titled, "Fremont Unified School District Reusables Pilot."The presentation was an hour long including 15 minutes of open discussion and questions. Results from the baseline food and solid waste data were shared. The same presenters will attend the CRRA 2024 Conference in August to update attendees on the progress of the study. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To accomplish the goals, we have started collecting follow-up data and will continue until May 2024. In Summer 2024, focus groups and interviews will be conducted. Focus groups with parents will help us understand parents' perception of school meals. School lunch participation data will be collected from foodservice administrators, and follow-up interviews will be conducted with foodservice staff to understand the cost of the transition.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Baseline data collection was completed in Spring 2023. The intervention occurred after baseline (2 schools in Spring 2023, the remaining 8 schools in Fall/Winter 2023 and Spring 2024). Follow-up data collection will be completed in all 20 schools in Spring 2024. Goal 1: to improve dietary intake among low-income students Research Objective 1: Assess whether student meal participation increases and food insecurity decreases when meals are provided fresh, unpackaged compared to pre-packaged and reheated Major activities: FUSD liaison will distribute follow-up parent opt out forms and student surveys to 20 elementary schools to be completed by all eligible 4th and 5th graders, approximately 3,000 students. Data collected: Baseline student survey data have been entered. Completed follow-up student surveys will be collected and processed. Summary statistics/discussion: Baseline data from student surveys were entered into an online survey using Qualtrics and baseline results will be summarized using descriptive statistics. Research Objective 2: Determine whether student meal consumption increases (and food waste decreases) when school lunch is provided fresh and unpackaged on reusable service ware compared to pre-packaged and reheated and whether daily intake of fruits and vegetables increases Major activities: A team of 20 data collectors were trained on the plate waste protocol which was modified to account for the use of salad bars at school lunch. Data collected: Baseline plate waste data collection was completed for two days at each of the 20 participating elementary schools. Follow-up data collection has started. Summary statistics/discussion: Baseline data from paper forms have been entered into excel and have been summarized using descriptive statistics. Follow-up data will be entered into the same excel format as baseline data. Goal 2: to enhance the financial viability and environmental sustainability of the school district foodservice operation Research Objective 3: Determine whether provision of freshly prepared and unpackaged meals reduces other solid waste (packaging and service ware) in schools Major activities: A team of 20 data collectors were trained on the solid waste protocol. Data collected: Baseline solid waste data collection was completed for two days at each of the 20 participating elementary schools. Follow-up solid waste data collection will be completed for two days at the same schools. Summary statistics/discussion: Baseline data from paper forms have been entered into an excel sheet and have been summarized using descriptive statistics. Follow-up data will be entered into the same excel sheet format. Research Objective 4: Assess the costs involved in transitioning from pre-packaged and reheated meals to freshly prepared meals, including food, labor, equipment, packaging, and waste disposal Major activities: Cost Analysis tool was developed (described in Other Products section) Data collected: No data were collected. Summary statistics/discussion: Nothing to report.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
C Felix co-presented with B Schliefer (Center for Environmental Health) and S Willits (Fremont USD) at the California Resource and Recovery Association Conference in-person in Burlingame, CA on 8/15/23 an invited talk titled, Fremont Unified School District Reusables Pilot."
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Progress 04/01/22 to 03/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:COVID-19 has impacted our study's target audience and timeline. Due to supply chain shortages of food and packaging materials, varying school meal distribution systems, and staffing shortages, San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) could not continue participating in the study. However, Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) was recently awarded a grant to transition to reusable service ware and to 40% fresh, school-prepared meals with minimal single-use packaging. Given the similarities between SFUSD's initial planned transition to FUSD's plan, we invited FUSD to participate in our study in place of SFUSD. The study design remained the same, we are using a quasi-experimental design, with a pre-post evaluation involving 20 elementary schools in a large urban school district, FUSD; half of the schools will receive the intervention, and half will be in the comparison group. The long-term goals remained the same and are twofold: to improve students' dietary intake and enhance the financial viability and environmental sustainability of the school district food service operation. We aim to determine the impacts of the intervention on the following outcomes: 1. Student meal participation, school meal and fruit and vegetable consumption, and food insecurity 2. School meal solid waste (packaging and service ware) 3. School district: costs including food, labor, equipment, packaging, and waste disposal. Changes/Problems:The challenges outlined below have made it infeasible for SFUSD to continue with the study despite schools reopening, which led us to pivot to FUSD. 1. Varying school meal distribution systems continued to be used post-pandemic in SFUSD. Some schools hand out a prepacked meal, and students eat in their classrooms. Other schools allow all students to eat their food outside, while others divide students, half eat inside, and half eat outside. Unfortunately, these alternative methods of school meal service made the plate and solid waste data collection infeasible. 2. Supply shortages of food and packaging materials (e.g., food boats, utensils) were problems for SFUSD. Supply chain challenges impacted the menu and waste stream, which continued into school year 22/23. 3. Staffing shortages, staffing for implementation, and administration of bulk food service continued to be a limitation for school year 22/23 given the higher need for on-site support. Fortunately, we were able to find a new school district in the San Francisco Bay Area who was willing and able to participate in the study. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A total of 10 students (undergraduate and graduate) were trained on our plate and solid waste protocols. Our solid waste protocol was newly developed for this study, providing a unique development opportunity for our research staff and participating students. Our students came from different institutions, we had a Pepperdine undergraduate, a UCSF Dietetic Intern, two San Jose State University undergraduates, two UC Berkeley graduate students, and four UC Berkeley undergraduates. Our previous graduate student research fellow, Jessica Heiges a doctoral candidate at the UC Berkeley Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management has now completed their PhD. We also had a group of 25 community volunteers that received volunteer specific training that explained the study and included roles they could fill, such as distributing trays, collecting raffle tickets, and helping with post-lunch cleanup. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To accomplish the goals, we plan to collect follow-up data in the Spring of 2024. In the Spring of 2024, focus groups and interviews will be conducted. Focus groups with parents will help us understand parents' perception of school meals. School lunch participation data will be collected from foodservice administrators, and follow-up interviews will be conducted with foodservice staff to understand the cost of the transition. We have also hired someone to fill the role of Cooperative Extension nutrition educator who will develop school meal educational and promotional materials in collaboration with FUSD staff and youth.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
A new district and 20 elementary schools in the district were recruited to participate in the study. The study was reviewed and approved by the district school foodservice department and school board. Protocol changes were made to adapt the study to the new district and baseline data collection was completed in Spring 2023. The intervention occurs after baseline (begun in Spring 2023 in 2 schools, beginning in Fall 2023 in the remaining 8 intervention schools). Follow-up data collection will be completed in all 20 schools in the Spring of 2024. Goal 1: to improve dietary intake among low-income students Research Objective 1: Assess whether student meal participation increases and food insecurity decreases when meals are provided fresh, unpackaged compared to pre-packaged and reheated 1. Major activities: FUSD liaison hired and distributed parent opt out forms and student surveys to 20 elementary schools to be completed by all eligible 4th and 5th graders, approximately 3,000 students. 2. Data collected: Completed student surveys are being collected and the data is being processed. 3. Summary statistics/discussion: Baseline data from student surveys will be entered into an online survey using Qualtrics and baseline results will be summarized using descriptive statistics. Research Objective 2: Determine whether student meal consumption increases (and food waste decreases) when school lunch is provided fresh and unpackaged on reusable service ware compared to pre-packaged and reheated and whether daily intake of fruits and vegetables increases 1. Major activities: A team of 20 data collectors were trained on the plate waste protocol which was modified to account for the use of salad bars at school lunch. School nutrition information for all school lunch options were obtained. 2. Data collected: Baseline plate waste data collection was completed for two days at each of the 20 participating elementary schools. 3. Summary statistics/discussion: Baseline data from paper forms are currently being entered into excel and will be summarized using descriptive statistics. Goal 2: to enhance the financial viability and environmental sustainability of the school district foodservice operation Research Objective 3: Determine whether provision of freshly prepared and unpackaged meals reduces other solid waste (packaging and service ware) in schools 1. Major activities: A team of 20 data collectors were trained on the solid waste protocol. 2. Data collected: Baseline solid waste data collection was completed for two days at each of the 20 participating elementary schools. 3. Summary statistics/discussion: Baseline data from paper forms are currently being entered into an excel sheet and will be summarized using descriptive statistics. Research Objective 4: Assess the costs involved in transitioning from pre-packaged and reheated meals to freshly prepared meals, including food, labor, equipment, packaging, and waste disposal 1. Major activities: We continue to work with FUSD administrators to determine how best to track food, labor, equipment, packaging, and waste disposal costs during the evaluation period. 2. Data collected: No data were collected. Summary statistics/discussion: Nothing to report.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Ritchie L, Thompson HR, Felix C, Lee D, Gosliner W, Heiges J, Vollmer L, RD; Nguyen C, Madsen K. Transition to Freshly-Prepared School Meals: Impacts on Meal Appeal, Student Participation, Intake, Food and Packaging Waste & School Finances. Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Annual Conference, Washington, DC. July 23, 2023. (poster)
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Progress 04/01/21 to 03/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:COVID-19 has delayed the study's data collection timeline. Due to the delay and changes in schools' food distribution model, we have removed certain schools from our study. We still plan to use a quasi-experimental design, but the pre-post evaluation will involve 10 elementary schools in a large urban school district, San Francisco Unified (SFUSD); half of the schools will receive the intervention, and half will be in the comparison group. The long-term goals remain the same and are twofold: to improve dietary intake among low-income students and to enhance the financial viability and environmental sustainability of the school district food service operation. Our aims are to determine the impacts of the intervention on the following outcomes: 1) student meal participation, school meal and fruit and vegetable consumption, and food insecurity, 2) school meal solid waste (packaging and service ware); and 3) school district costs including food, labor, equipment, packaging, and waste disposal. Changes/Problems:COVID-19 has caused many unanticipated interruptions to schools' intervention implementation timeline and consequently has resulted in removing select schools and delaying the evaluation. The challenges outlined below have made it infeasible for data collection to occur despite schools reopening: Varying school meal distribution systems. Some schools hand out a pre-packed meal, and students eat in their classrooms. Other schools allow all students to eat their food outside, while others divide students, half eat inside, and half eat outside. Unfortunately, these alternative methods of school meal service made the plate and solid waste data collection infeasible. Supply shortages of food and packaging materials (e.g., food boats, utensils) were problems for SFUSD school year 21/22. Supply chain challenges impacted the menu and waste stream, which will likely continue into school year 22/23. Staffing shortages, staffing for implementation, and administration of bulk food service may continue to be a limitation for school year 22/23 given the higher need for on-site support. SFUSD is still committed to implementing the intervention, and the necessary infrastructure changes have been moving forward during COVID. We continue to meet with SFUSD to adjust the evaluation timeline accordingly to the changes occurring at schools. Currently, we are planning to conduct baseline data collection at 10 elementary schools during Fall 2022 and follow-up data post-intervention in Spring 2023. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Jessica Heiges-doctoral candidate at the UC Berkeley Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management-was provided mentorship by the research team in conducting her first systematic literature review and her first publication to a peer-reviewed journal. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To accomplish the goals, we plan to collect baseline data during the Fall of 2022 and conduct follow-up data collection in the Spring of 2023.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Despite schools reopening after the COVID-19 lockdown, the disruptions in school meal service distribution made data collection infeasible. These problems are described in more detail in the challenges/problems section. Baseline data collection is planned for the Fall of 2022, intervention (bulk meals) occurs after baseline, and follow-up data collection occurs in the Spring of 2023. Goal 1 Research Objective 1 Major activities: none to report Data collected: no data was collected Summary statistics/discussion: nothing to report. Research Objective 2 Major activities: none to report Data collected: no data was collected. Summary statistics/discussion: nothing to report. Goal 2 Research Objective 3 Major activities: a literature review on solid waste evaluation in school food programs and other institutional settings was submitted to IJERPH. It was used to update our solid waste tool and protocol. Data collected: no data was collected. Summary statistics/discussion: nothing to report. Research Objective 4 Major activities: we continue to work with SFUSD administrators to determine how best to track food, labor, equipment, packaging, and waste disposal costs during the evaluation period. Data collected: no data was collected. Summary statistics/discussion: nothing to report.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Heiges, Jessica, et al. Evaluating Food Packaging Waste in Schools: a Systematic Literature Review International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022.
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Progress 04/01/20 to 03/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The intent of this NIFA-funded project is to develop and evaluate an innovative, student-centered transition from pre-prepared, packaged meals purchased from an external vendor to fresh, locally-prepared school meals served with less packaging and more reusable serviceware. Using a quasi-experimental design, this pre-post evaluation involves 20 elementary and middle schools in a large urban school district, San Francisco Unified (SFUSD); half of the schools will receive the intervention and half will be in the comparison group. The long-term goals are twofold: to improve dietary intake among low-?income students, and to enhance the financial viability and environmental sustainability of the school district foodservice operation. Our aims are to determine the impacts of the intervention on the following outcomes: 1) student meal participation, school meal and fruit and vegetable consumption, and food insecurity, 2) school meal solid waste (packaging and serviceware); and 3) school district costs including food, labor, equipment, packaging, and waste disposal. Changes/Problems:Several unanticipated challenges (summarized below) have delayed implementation of the intervention and its evaluation. These challenges are similar to those faced by many large, urban school districts in this past year, and thus provide important insight for districts seeking to implement similar interventions. COVID-19-related School Closures Baseline data collection (student surveys and cafeteria plate and solid waste of school lunch) was scheduled to occur in all elementary schools (12 out of the planned sample of 20 schools) in the spring of 2020 and in middle schools (the remaining eight schools) in fall of 2020. However, we were able to collect baseline data at only one intervention elementary school prior to the California COVID-19-related shelter-in-place order in mid-March. While SFUSD has continued to provide school meals to students during the pandemic, the meal distribution model has changed substantially. Students are no longer coming to school and eating school meals in the school cafeteria. Instead, school meals are now packaged, bundled, and delivered to families at select sites (not at all schools) while all student education is virtual, with schools slowly reopening in Spring 2021 for in-person learning to elementary students and high-risk secondary students only a few days a week. Further, San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) Guidelines require that SFUSD serve only pre-packaged meals to in-person learners and disallow meal service in the cafeteria to ensure classroom cohorts are not mixed or allowed to share indoor spaces. Therefore, in-person learners will be served pre-packed in the classroom, as described in this SFUSD video and this SFUSD note to teachers. Quickly adapting to this new model of delivering school meals has delayed SFUSD's ability to implement the intervention as planned. For example, the 'remote' meal service model has interfered with the district's plan to reduce meal packaging and use of disposable serviceware. This will continue to be a problem as long as distributing school meals for families to take home and pre-packaged meals served to students in classrooms during minimal on-site learning continues. This is because SFUSD does not have the staffing and resources to operate both this model and the on-site freshly prepared and unpackaged meal service model simultaneously and because of SFDPH COVID-related concerns with congregate school meal dining and foodservice. San Francisco Unified School District is still committed to implementing the intervention and the necessary infrastructure changes have been moving forward during COVID. The two likely scenarios depend on COVID-19 restrictions. At present we are operating on the assumption that SFUSD will resume in-person learning in Fall 2021, and our baseline data collection would begin either in the fall (assuming cafeteria dining is deemed safe to re-open in fall) or spring (if cafeteria dining is delayed until spring). If SFUSD cannot resume in-person learning or cafeterias can't re-open in the 2021-22 school year, we would delay baseline data collection until the 2022-23 school year.Several contingency plans have been developed in collaboration with SFUSD leadership, and considering USDA's request to minimize study alterations to the extent possible, for the proposed intervention and evaluation timeline. Those plans are detailed below: Scenario 1: In-person learning & SFUSD returns to typical food service operations in Fall 2021. Project delay of over 1 year Baseline data collection in Fall 2021, intervention (bulk meals) occurs late fall and early spring 2022, and follow-up data collection occurs each fall for 1 years SFUSD's estimate likelihood of this scenario: 40% Changes to proposal: assessing a 1-year, rather than a 2-year intervention if multiple disruptions to school foodservice interfere with 'baseline' assessment in 2021. Considerations: uncertainty about lunch service model, and possibility it will be altered which will require adaptations to the school lunch plate waste protocol (e.g., collecting plate waste in select classrooms or for a subset of students in the cafeteria rather than for all students) and adaptations to the meal service (e.g., more packaging and use of disposable serviceware required if meals served in classrooms) It is unclear if SFUSD will allow research staff and volunteers on site for data collection due to concerns about COVID-19 mitigation Scenario 2: In-person learning, but SFUSD food service operating in classrooms only in Fall 2021; typical food service operations begin in Spring 2022 Project delay of nearly 2 years Baseline data collection in early Spring 2022, intervention (bulk meals) occurs after baseline, and follow-up data collection occurs the following Spring for 1 year SFUSD's estimate likelihood of this scenario: 40% Changes to proposal: assessing a 1-year, rather than a 2-year intervention; project will need to be extended by 6 months. Scenario 3: Typical food service operations delayed until the 2022-23 school year Project delay of over 2 years Baseline data collection in Fall 2022, intervention (bulk meals) occurs after baseline, and follow-up data collection occurs the following Fall for 1 year SFUSD's estimate likelihood of this scenario: 20% Changes to proposal: assessing a 1-year, rather than a 2-year intervention; project will need to be extended by 1 year. School Breakfast We originally proposed evaluating changes in provision of both school breakfast and school lunch meals. However, the present study will now only assess changes in provision of school lunch meals. There are three reasons for this change. First, middle schools have already shifted to 100% fresh, locally-prepared school breakfast in fall 2019, so we were unable to collect baseline data for school breakfast. Second, elementary schools will be prioritizing the transitioning to fresh, locally-prepared meals for school lunches first before transitioning breakfast. Although we can likely collect baseline data for elementary school breakfasts, we will be unable to collect follow-up data for school breakfast within the proposed project timeline. Third, schools within the study sample will have various models of school breakfast during the proposed project timeline (pre-packed in the cafeteria, pre-packaged grab and go, pre-packaged fresh from scratch bulk in the cafeteria (BIC)); SFUSD is hoping to expand BIC at elementary schools over the next several years, so it will be challenging for us to collect follow-up data for a large-enough sample of schools during the proposed project timeline. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The study provides intensive training in municipal solid waste, food systems transitions, and nutrition-related research methodology for one doctoral student and several undergraduate students in public health and environmental science, policy and management. Specifically, this project provides training in: research design, survey design, plate waste assessment methodology, development of study protocols and tools in municipal solid waste, study management, and training in ethical research. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Advisory board members (listed below) were contacted in March 2021 to inform them of the delay in the study launch due to COVID-19 pandemic-related school closures (see "Changes/Problems"). No results have been generated or disseminated. Laura Vollmer, MPH, RD; Nutrition Family and Consumer Sciences Advisor and County Director for UC Cooperative Extension in San Mateo-San Francisco Counties Fred Espinosa; Manager of Acquisition and Production, Food and Nutrition Services, San Diego Unified School District (manages foodservice operations at another large urban school district in California) Kim Frinzell, MS, RD; Director, Nutrition Services Division, California Department of Education (administers the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program for all school districts in California) Deanna Hoelscher, PhD, RD, LD, CNS; Professor in Health Promotion, Director of the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, University of Texas Health Science Center (leads school-based and community-based nutrition and obesity prevention interventions to reduce child food insecurity and obesity) Susana Matias, PhD; Cooperative Extension Nutrition Specialist, Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology Department, UC Berkeley (Latina researcher who brings expertise in child nutrition intervention research) Marisa Neelon, MS, RD; Nutrition, Family & Consumer Sciences Advisor for UC Cooperative Extension in Contra Costa County, oversees the EFNEP program in Alameda County, and co-leads the UC ANR workgroup on consumer climate change literacy (experience working with SFUSD and other large school districts to reduce food insecurity and food waste, improve nutrition and ensure food safety) Punam Ohri-Vachaspati, PhD, RD; Professor of Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Health Promotions, and Senior Sustainability Scientist, College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University (conducts research to inform nutrition policy and practice in schools and community settings) Kate O'Neill, PhD; Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, UC Berkeley (scholar on domestic and global waste and implications to environmental science and climate change) Sondra Parmer, PhD; Extension Specialist, Family and Consumer Sciences, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Auburn University (specializes in youth and adult nutrition education and policy, systems and environmental change) Kyle Pogue ; Environmental Program Manager, CalRecycle, a non-profit in California to support food waste prevention programs and policies (expert involved in development of regulations supporting recent California legislation establishing a target of a 75% reduction in statewide disposal of organic waste by 2025) Alex Rosado; CalRecycle (will represent Kyle Pogue and CalRecycle on the advisory board) Annie Reed, DrPH, MPP; National Director of Thriving Schools, Kaiser Permanente (expert in school-based public health initiatives and former project manager of the prior AFRI-funded SFUSD study) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The solid waste evaluation literature review will be published as a Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI) published report and disseminated to UC Cooperate Extension advisors and specialists as well as NPI newsletter subscribers and Twitter followers. The protocol for assessing food, labor, equipment, packaging, and waste disposal costs during the evaluation period will be finalized. We will begin baseline data collection, and may conduct follow-up data collection for intervention and comparison schools, depending upon school reopening timelines (see "Changes/Problems"). We will identify a CE nutrition educator to develop school meal education and promotional materials in collaboration with SFUSD staff and youth.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
School meals offer an unparalleled opportunity to improve student food security and nutrition outcomes and to minimize food and packaging waste to facilitate both human and environmental health. Nationally the nutritional quality of school meals has improved, but student participation in the lunch program is declining and high levels of waste persist. San Francisco Unified School District aims to reverse this trend by transitioning from pre-packaged reheated meals to fresh, locally-prepared meals served using reusable serviceware. By leveraging baseline data collected from our prior AFRI-funded school dining redesign, we aim to evaluate the impact of an integrated school lunch redesign on student participation and intake of school meals. Cooperative Extension will provide stakeholder education and promotion of the school meal redesign (for students, parents, and staff). Using a quasi-experimental pre-post design, we have enrolled 4 middle schools and 6 elementary intervention schools which will be compared to 10 control schools over 3 years, matched by student demographics. We will track student lunch and breakfast participation, and assess plate waste to estimate student intakes, packaging waste to estimate environmental impacts, and foodservice costs to document financial impacts. Student surveys and student/parent focus groups will provide context for other quantitative results. We hypothesize that meal appeal, student participation and intake of school meals will increase, food and packaging waste will decrease, and after an initial investment, foodservice costs will be stable or decrease due to increased meal participation. Findings will be disseminated in publications, presentations, and a toolkit to inform districts about costs and benefits of improving school meals. Schools have been closed across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, halting all intervention and evaluation activities as described below in the challenges/problems section. Goal 1 Research Objective 1 1)Major activities: we developed a paper survey for elementary and middle-school students to assess student food insecurity. 2)Data collected: we conducted baseline student meal participation and student survey data collection at one intervention elementary school. 3)Summary statistics/discussion: nothing to report. Research Objective 2 1)Major activities: we conducted a literature review on how best to evaluate student school meal consumption and determined the aggregate plate waste method conducted at 2 lunch meals per school per timepoint was the most appropriate. 2)Data collected: we conducted baseline plate waste data collection at one intervention elementary school. 3)Summary statistics/discussion: nothing to report. Goal 2 Research Objective 3 1)Major activities: we conducted a literature review on solid waste evaluation in school food programs and other institutional settings; results were used to inform the development of a tool and protocol to assess the amount of solid waste generated from meal packaging and serviceware. 2)Data collected: we conducted baseline solid waste data collection at one intervention elementary school. 3)Summary statistics/discussion: nothing to report. Research Objective 4 1)Major activities: we met with SFUSD administrators to determine how best to track food, labor, equipment, packaging, and waste disposal costs during the evaluation period. 2)Data collected: no data was collected. 3)Summary statistics/discussion: nothing to report. Goals 1 & 2 Extension Objective 1 1)Major activities: none to report. 2)Data collected: no data was collected. Summary statistics: nothing to report.
Publications
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