The United States possesses a well intentioned but misguided lunch program, leaving children overfed but malnourished. Currently, a revolution is under way to transform programs around the country by incorporating locally grown and fresh ingredients, as well as integrating hands-on educational experiences with gardening and nutrition. The Claremont Unified School District (CUSD) makes up a group of schools that once heavily relied on unhealthy processed foods for providing lunch. Through a series of modifications in the past three years, CUSD’s program has been remodeled to feature more local produce and fresh ingredients, independent of USDA commodities or large scale agriculture. This has led to a healthier student body as well as a more cohesive school community.

Thesis (M.S.)--Northwest Missouri State University, 2009. / The full text of the thesis is included in the pdf file. Title from title screen of full text.pdf file (viewed on July 17, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 15, 2010) The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Dissertation advisor: Dr. Ruth Ann Roberts Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Northern Kentucky University, 2009. / Made available through ProQuest. Publication number: AAT 1462676. ProQuest document ID: 1703377531. Includes bibliographical references (p. 36-45)

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Danielle Wleklinski, for the Master of Science degree in Food and Nutrition, presented on December 7, 2010, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: ILLINOIS SCHOOL FOODSERVICE EMPLOYEES' AND PURCHASERS' PERCEIVED BENEFITS, OBSTACLES, AND ATTITUDES TO PURCHASING MORE LOCAL FOODS MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Sylvia Smith Due to the recent surge in environmental consciousness and childhood obesity, Farm to School Programs have gained interest. Previous research studies indicate school foodservice purchasers perceive benefits and obstacles to purchasing local foods (32,74,78,80-81). However, no studies have investigated school foodservice employees' perceptions to benefits, obstacles, and interest to purchasing local food, and if purchasers view benefits and obstacles differently based on school size. Our study sought to further understand perceived benefits, obstacle and attitudes to purchasing local food among school foodservice employees and purchasers. Our study (N=151) found purchasers and employees agree to 13 benefits and 16 obstacles to purchasing local food. Purchasers from large- and medium-size schools perceive less "less use of pesticides" and "ability to know product sources" as stronger benefits to purchasing local food and perceive "cost of food", "adequate volume", "reliable supply of food quantity", "payment arrangement", and "packing material" as stronger obstacles to purchasing local food (p<≤>¡Ü05). Results also show purchasers and employees are interested in receiving training to prepare and serve more local foods; however, purchasers only slightly agree they have resources to train their employees to prepare more meals with local foods and slightly disagree they are willing to pay more for local foods. Results suggest training programs may be needed to encourage local food procurement in schools. Further research should be performed to validate this study's findings; if differences in purchasers' perceived benefits and obstacles based on school size are identified, researchers should investigate where differences lie and why they exist.

The purpose of this study is to make an investigation of the achievement records and personality status of a matched group of pupils in the Lake Dallas elementary school to determine what effect, if any, participation or non-participation in the school's hot lunch program has on grade progress and disposition of the pupils. Attention is given to individual studies of pupils and to outcomes of instruction.

Objective. As childhood obesity continues to threaten the overall health of young people, K-12 teachers are uniquely poised to advocate for, and support food and nutrition, school lunch and student health. Yet, classroom teachers are largely uninvolved in school lunch. School lunch is typically viewed as separate from the rest of the school day and not seen as an educational opportunity. The purpose of this dissertation was to develop an understanding of the role teachers could play in supporting, encouraging, and shifting the culture that surrounds school lunch in the United States. Methods. To accomplish this purpose, this dissertation had two studies. Study One utilized ten K–12 public school teachers. The data collected were from a descriptive characteristics questionnaire, theatrical data collection workshops, and individual interviews. These data provided an understanding of teachers’ attitudes and perceptions of school lunch, and if and how they currently provide food and nutrition education and support school lunch. The data provided an understanding of obstacles that keep teachers from supporting school lunch, recommendations and resources for teachers to support the school lunch program, and links between food and nutrition education to school lunch. Study Two developed an understanding of the realities, feasibility and experiences of 39 teachers from six schools while implementing a school wellness initiative in Anchorage, Alaska. The non-prescriptive wellness initiative in which the teachers operated, allocated 30 minutes for lunch and 54 minutes of physical activity each day, in which 30 of those minutes was allotted for recess. The teachers were regularly in the cafeteria. The data collected were from focus groups (one per school) to explore teachers’ experiences implementing the wellness initiative. Data Analysis. For Study One, the descriptive characteristics questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistics and frequencies. For Studies One and Two, the theatrical data collection workshops, individual interviews, and focus groups were transcribed, coded and analyzed for themes and domains using NVivo version 12 for Mac. Inter-rater reliability was conducted to ensure statistical agreement in the codes (k = 0.78). Results. Study One: the teachers had a general dislike of the school lunch served when they were children. As teachers, they generally disliked the school lunch as well. However, they saw the importance of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in providing meals for low-income students. Additionally, they thought it was very important for all students to be well-nourished to do well at school. Teachers made efforts to see that their students were fed by providing healthy snacks, modeling healthy eating in the cafeteria, and incorporating food and nutrition into their curricula. The participants believed teachers could play a greater role in school lunch by regularly discussing school lunch, eating with students, gardening and cooking with students, and/or providing positive messaging about lunch. However, there were barriers to overcome, including lack of administrative support, poor food quality, poor cafeteria culture, and a lack of adequate professional development. The teachers felt opportunities for professional development related to school lunch would provide greater self-efficacy, knowledge, and skills to overcome the barriers to playing a greater role in school lunch.Study Two: the teachers believed the wellness initiative had the best intentions for their students. Teachers found physical activity breaks to be beneficial for students and saw improvement in their students’ focus, attention, and behavior. Teachers also observed students eating more due to the extra time at lunch. Younger students benefitted the most from the extra time. However, timing and scheduling of the physical activity component was the largest barrier along with lack of administrative support in some schools. Additionally, teachers observed poor student behavior in the cafeteria as a result of the extra time. The teachers did not report eating with students or encouraging students to eat school lunch. Conclusions. Because they are growing and developing, diets that provide adequate calories and nutrient-dense food are vital for children to reach their highest potentials. Despite its negative stereotype, school lunch provides a reliable source of nutrition to food insecure children. The research suggests teachers can play a large role in school lunch and have the greatest power to act as agents of cultural change in schools but need the support of their respective schools’ administrations. School lunch-based professional development would assist teachers in accomplishing this momentous task.

The objective of this research was to compare actual food costs with standard food costs in twenty-seven elementary schools in Virginia using information derived from the Cost-Based Accounting system. Comparison of actual and standard food costs were made using techniques adapted from industrial settings. These techniques include MAD, RSFE, and tracking signals. These techniques were then used to establish control limits for cost variances between actual and standard costs. As a result of the research effort, the use of MAD, RSFE, and tracking signals proved to be a realistic approach to cost variance analysis in school foodservice. / Master of Science

Master of Science

This study looked at how cholesterol levels of students, ages 11-15, who participated in the NSLP and the SBP would be affected compared with those students who only participated in the NSLP. Fasting blood samples (lOmL) were analyzed from 15 students who ate lunch only (L) and 15 students who ate both breakfast and lunch (BL) from the Driver Middle School food service at least 3 times a week. Blood was analyzed for changes in total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and Triglycerides from baseline to 4 months. Results showed a significant decrease in total cholesterol and LDL, and a significant increase in triglycerides from baseline to 4 months in both the L group and the BL group. This may be attributable to hormone levels during sexual maturation in prepubescent and pubescent students. / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences