Elementary Students’ Food Consumption at Lunch Does Not Meet Recommended Dietary Allowance for Energy, Iron, and Vitamin A

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Methods

An elementary school was selected from a rural school district located in a Midwestern state that used Nutrient Standard Menu Planning guidelines (NuMenus) with offer vs serve. Data were collected during 5 consecutive days (Period 1) and 5 randomly selected days during a 4-week period (Period 2). One fourth of the students’ trays served at lunch were selected randomly; prior to meal service colored stickers were placed on one fourth of the trays, which were then placed randomly in the stack.

The

Results and Discussion

During the study period, an average of 97 lunches was served daily; the participation rate was approximately 90%. Participation was the highest on Day 6 and Day 9, when pigs’N blanket and submarine sandwich were served as the entrée, respectively. Participation was the lowest on Day 4, when tuna and noodle casserole was served. The percentage of students selecting each menu item, portion size, and plate waste percentage are presented in Table 1. All students were served an entrée and a half

Applications

To improve the nutritional quality of school meals, foodservice directors and dietetics professionals should continually evaluate factors that may influence students’ consumption, such as preference, acceptability, and serving method. School foodservice managers can evaluate acceptability of menus using plate waste data and determine changes needed in the menu or menu selections. One of the major concerns with offer vs serve is that vegetables and fruits are the most declined and least consumed

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References (12)

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Cited by (14)

  • “Monkey see, monkey do”: Peers' behaviors predict preschoolers' physical activity and dietary intake in childcare centers

    2017, Preventive Medicine
    Citation Excerpt :

    The decision to collect dietary data on only two days was based on feasibility and on reports from previous studies which have assessed children's dietary data in schools and childcare centers over the same number of days (Ball et al., 2007; Kirks and Wolff, 1985). The weighed plate waste method has shown to be a reliable measurement of dietary intake and has been used in studies among school-aged children (Lee et al., 2001). First, each food item that was offered at lunch on days of data collection was weighed and photographed before and after each serving.

  • Habitual plate-waste of 6- to 9-year-olds may not be associated with lower nutritional needs or taste acuity, but undesirable dietary factors

    2009, Nutrition Research
    Citation Excerpt :

    However, the fact that 13.8% to 18.8% of school lunch is being lost from plate-waste (PW) [3,4] demonstrates that the quality of the meals is no use unless the students actually eat them [5]. To reduce PW from school lunches, extensive studies suggested nutrition education [6], scheduling recess before lunch [7], allowing students some choices (salad bars or buffet style) [8] and continuous evaluation of preferences, acceptability, and serving methods [9]. However, these studies are limited to schools and dietitians' planning and serving meals for the entire school rather than a better understanding of individual students who are served.

  • Food type, food preparation, and competitive food purchases impact school lunch plate waste by sixth-grade students

    2005, Journal of the American Dietetic Association
    Citation Excerpt :

    Although waste is expected with most lunch items, fruits and vegetables are reportedly wasted more than any other food item (8-10). This current study confirms the findings of Lee and colleagues (11) that suggest applesauce is preferred over other fruits by elementary school children; however, it contradicts their finding that potatoes are wasted less than other vegetables. Our findings are largely comparable with a US Department of Agriculture report, which indicates that plate wastes of cooked vegetables, salads, and fruits are 40%, 30%, and 20%, respectively, in school children, except that, in this study, fruit waste was higher than vegetable waste (12).

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