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.
Using a Bid Database to Study the Nutritional Quality of Competitive Foods in Schools and Establish a Baseline for Evaluating New USDA Guidelines
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
Race/Ethnicity: African American or Black, Latino(a) or Hispanic, Multi-racial/ethnic
Age Groups: Elementary-age children (grades K to 5), Young adolescents (grades 6 to 8), Adolescents (grades 9 to 12)
Resource Type: Grant Summary
Focus Area: School & After School
States: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin
Keywords: Beverage contracts, Competitive foods, Food service, Nutrition standards, Snacks, Vending machines
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