The purpose of this project is to conduct an exploratory, pilot study with three schools to determine how school cafeteria renovations that create choice-based serving lines, a variety of inviting and comfortable seating options, and nutrition education messaging may impact school lunch consumption, seated time, attitudes, and school lunch participation rates. To measure the potential effects of STARCafé on students’ intake, school lunch consumption will be measured using before and after meal digital photography at two months and one academic year post-renovation. Seated time will be measured using the time stamp on before and after meal photos. Healthy eating attitudes of students toward school lunch will be measured using a brief 36-item survey. School lunch participation rates will be assessed using transaction-level point-of-service data. Noise level will be measured using noise measure procedures from prior studies. The research team will assess the fidelity of the STARCafé renovations to the Healthy Eating Design Guidelines at two months and one academic year post-renovation. Finally, the research team will assess the adoption of new healthy food-related policies and programs in the three schools.
Exploring the Effects of School Transformation and Redesign of Cafeterias (STARCafé)
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