Start Date: September 2013

ID #: 71253

Principal Investigator: Y. Claire Wang, MD, MSc, ScD

Organization: Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York

Funding Round: Round 8

See more related research

Share


The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently proposed new standards for snack (competitive) foods in schools, similar to the Competitive Foods Guidelines developed by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. This project will objectively track changes in snack food purchasing among K-12 public schools as a result ofthese standards. The aims of this work are to describe trends and establish a baseline for district-level purchases of snack foods by repurposing the lnterflex commercial bids database. This database provides public information on purchases made by over 500 K-12 school operators, which represents more than 46 percent of all food and supply bids put out by the schools. Analysis will include schools in the following districts: Little Rock/Pulaski, Ark.; Los Angeles Unified, Calif.; Milwaukee Public Schools, Wis.; Pittsburgh Public Schools, Pa.; Clark County, Nev.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Dallas Independent School District, Texas.

Related Research

January 2017

Nutrition Quality of U.S. School Snack Foods: A First Look at 2011-2014 Bid Records in 8 School Districts

As part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, snacks and desserts sold in schools as of the 2014-2015 school year were required to meet “Smart Snacks” nutritional guidelines. This study evaluated the potential of using public bid records to characterize the nutrition quality of snack food procured by school districts. Using Interflex, a database of More

December 2025

From Policy to Plate: Implications of 2025 U.S. Federal Policy Changes on School Meals

School meals are a cornerstone of the United States’ nutrition safety net for children from low-income families, providing nearly 30 million lunches daily. However, recent U.S. policy actions may limit access to school meals for children who need them most. This commentary, published in the Nutrients Special Issue The Influence of School Meals on Children More

December 2025

Ultra-Processed Foods in School Meals: Challenges and Opportunities

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are ubiquitous in the U.S. food supply, while growing evidence shows that UPFs harm children’s health. Schools offer a promising setting to introduce UPF regulation and reduce the availability of UPFs. This brief explores the issue of UPFs in school meals and identifies opportunities and challenges to replace UPFs with more fresh More