Keyword: Food service

Child Care as an Untapped Setting for Obesity Prevention: State Child Care Licensing Regulations Related to Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Media Use for Preschool-Aged Children in the United States

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There are 8.6 million preschool-aged children enrolled in child-care facilities in the United States. The licensing regulations for these facilities in the areas of nutrition, physical activity, and media use (e.g., television, videos, computers) show that there are many potential opportunities to prevent obesity among these children.

Evaluating Two Meal Service Strategies for Moderating Energy Intake of Preschool-Aged Children

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This research will evaluate the influence of two low-cost approaches to serving meals in child care programs on children’s dietary intake. Specifically, a randomized crossover design experiment will be conducted to examine whether serving fruits and non-starchy vegetables in advance of other menu items at lunch may increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption and moderate More

Examining the Financial Impact of a la Carte Foods in Kansas Public Schools

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This project will characterize demographic and financial differences in the dependence on a la carte food sales among school food service programs. Specifically, the aims of this research are to: (a) classify and describe school districts according to their level of a la carte dependence, (b) explore key financial and demographic characteristics that distinguish low, More

The Federal Child Nutrition Commodity Program: A Report on Nutritional Quality

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This report found that school districts fail to take advantage of healthier foods offered by the federal child nutrition commodity program, despite improvements in the nutritional quality of foods offered to schools by USDA. The study found that, in California, meat and cheese products accounted for more than 82% of the dollars spent on commodity More

School Food Environments and Policies in U.S. Public Schools

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Based on 2005 data, this study found that 97% of high schools and 82% of middle schools had vending machines, compared with 17% of elementary schools. In addition, 93% of high schools and 92% of middle schools sold food and beverages a la carte, and nearly 80% of these schools offered unhealthy a la carte More

Mapping School Food: A Policy Guide

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School food environments are complex, particularly because they must function within a plethora of state, federal and local regulations. Individuals who work in this system-food service directors, superintendents, or others involved school food policy-are often left to their own devices to navigate the complex interplay of laws. In this study, legal researchers guide advocates in More

Documenting the Range and Quality of Existing Preschool Food Policies in Connecticut

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This project will investigate preschool food policies through two primary aims. First, the study will develop new measures and examine the validity of existing preschool nutrition measures through rigorous psychometric analysis, pilot and primary testing, and validity studies. The final product will be a multi-method toolkit of measures assessing the nutrition environment, caregiver attitudes, food More

Determining How Small Changes in the Way Snacks and Meals are Presented Influence Their Intake Among 3-5 year Olds

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This project uses a series of field experiments in daycare centers to determine how small changes in the way snacks and meals are presented to children, such as pairing foods with attractive names, icons and/or cartoon characters, will change their intake. The study will examine how salience (awareness) and expectations influence the food choices and More

Measuring, Analyzing and Examining Food Spending and Nutritional Quality in Family Day Care Participants in the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program

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The aim of this project is to examine how food costs and reimbursement rates impact the dietary quality of foods that are served in family day care homes. Taking advantage of a unique policy-analysis opportunity to assess the effects of different subsidy levels for providers in adjacent urban regions, this project will compare nutritional quality More