This study determined attitudes of kindergarten through fifth grade teachers about school nutrition environments, their perceived influence on school nutrition environments, and self-reported classroom behaviors. Specific objectives were to: (a) identify perceived factors that influence the school nutrition environment, according to teachers…

Food and eating in schools have most often been thought of as utilitarian parts of the day, as distractions, and, for education researchers, as lacking incentives to study or even as objects of derision rather than serious concern. Yet there are good reasons why scholars of education should consider food and food practices. These include the…

In fiscal year 2008, about 31 million children participated in the National School Lunch Program and more than 10 million children participated in the School Breakfast Program each school day. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) spent $11.7 billion on the school meal programs in that year. The majority of…

Purpose/Objectives: The Reauthorization Act of 2004 requires schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs to establish a wellness policy. The purpose of this study was to examine school foodservice directors' attitudes about the potential benefits of the wellness policy. Methods: A survey research design was…

Purpose: Purpose of this research was to investigate utilization of labor productivity standards and variables that affect productivity in Texas school foodservice operations. Methods: A questionnaire was developed, validated, and pilot tested, then mailed to 200 randomly selected Texas school foodservice directors. Descriptive statistics for…

Schools play a critical role in improving the dietary and physical activity behaviors of students. Schools can create an environment supportive of students' efforts to eat healthily and be active by implementing policies and practices that support healthy eating and regular physical activity and by providing opportunities for students to learn…

Childhood obesity has emerged as a critical health problem of the 21st century. The seriousness of this issue stems from the grave health consequences of overweight and obesity that begin in child-hood and persist later in life. In light of these consequences, public health officials and others have begun to focus on schools as key settings in…

This brochure presents state statistics; Alabama public schools 2009-10; Alabama State Board of Education members; financial data; public school size and enrollment, 2009-10 school year; transportation; school meals; school personnel, 2009-2010; graduation requirements; student assessment; additional enrollment; and dropouts in school year 2008-09.

This brief, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, examines how rural families use four of the major federal child nutrition programs. It finds that 29 percent of rural families with children participate but that there are barriers to these nutrition programs, such as the lack of public transportation and high operating costs for rural schools…

This brochure presents state statistics; Alabama public schools 2007-08; Alabama State Board of Education members; financial data; public school size and enrollment; transportation; school meals; school personnel, 2007-2008; graduation requirements; student assessment; additional enrollment; and dropouts, 2006-07.

For more than 20 years, the Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) has been a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) research organization committed to improving public policies and private practices to better the economic and social conditions of low- and moderate-income Texans. CPPP believes the upcoming reauthorization of the child nutrition…

Given the recent rise in childhood obesity, the School Breakfast Program (SBP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP) have received renewed attention. Using panel data on more than 13,500 primary school students, we assess the relationship between SBP and NSLP participation and (relatively) long-run measures of child weight. After documenting a…

The kids at Louisa May Alcott School were more into Flamin' Hot Cheetos and nachos than frisee and couscous. That is, until Greg Christian got to them. Exactly three years ago, the chef known as Chicago's conscious caterer decided to share his gastronomic talents with the city's low-income children. So he took his pilot program straight to the…

This report describes work using nationally representative 2005 data from the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment-III (SNDA-III) study to develop a simulation model to predict the potential implications of changes in policies or practices related to school meals and school food environments. The model focuses on three domains of outcomes: (1) the…

Purpose/Objectives: Study objectives were to identify the functional areas, competencies, knowledge, and skills needed by effective school nutrition (SN) assistants in the current SN environment, and determine at what point the SN assistant should be able to know/perform the knowledge/skill statement, at time of hire or after training. Methods: In…