Actin Items A B C Crnell Center fr Behaviral Ecnmics in Child Nutritin Prgrams Smarter Lunchrm Best Practice Evaluatin & Implementatin Guide Objective A number f Students that select Fruit Display Fruit n all lunch lines in 2 lcatins. 1 lcatin shuld be near the register 1. Display whle Fruit in a bwl r basket instead f a stainless steel bin r tray. Emply signs and verbal prmpts t draw attentin t and encurage kids t buy Fruit. Objective B number f Students that select Vegetables Give Vegetables names and display names next t r with Vegetables n the line Display the age targeted names n psters r menu bards utside the cafeteria. Create a student SNAC 2 cmmittee f respnsible fr the naming f and signage fr Vegetables. Objective C number f Students that select White Milk Place White Milk first in the lunchrm clers, in frnt f sugar added beverages. Place White Milk in every cler in the lunchrm Make sure White Milk accunts fr at least 1/3 f all the Milk displayed in lunchrm clers. Objective D number f Students that select Targeted Entrée Make the Entrée with the greatest nutrient density the first r mst prminent in the lunch line. Give the Entrée an age targeted name and display it with the Targeted Entrée. Display the new and name n a placard r menu bard utside the cafeteria. (SNAC Cmmittee) Objective E number f Students that select Reimbursable Meals Place cmpnents f RM at snack windw 3. Add an RM rab and 4 bag t the windw. ckies, etc) behind the serving cunter in the regular lunch line s they are available by request nly. Create a healthy items 5 nly cnvenience line 6 stcked with all types f milk, fruits, veggies, grab & g sandwiches & the lwest fat/lwest sdium Entrée items. 1Sme schls may be required t place fruits with edible peels (i.e. apples) behind a sneeze guard. If s, cnsider wrapping r slicing them and placing them in baggies, befre putting them in the ptimal lcatin. 2Student Nutritin Actin Cmmittee 3If yu have ne. 4As lng as kids can chse nt t take the grab and g bag, yu can assemble an RM withut sacrificing Offer vs. Serve. 5 6Exisitng snack lines r windws can ften be cnverted t a healthy chices line. Every Schl can immediately implement and benefit frm Smarter Lunchrms Actin Items in Rw A fr Objectives A, B & C. The Smarter Lunchrms Best Practices are the result f research cnducted by the Crnell Center fr Behaviral Ecnmics in Child Nutritin Prgrams (The BEN Center). BEN Center research has uncvered several basic principles that supprt a variety f changes s healthier selectins and healthier eating behavirs at lunch. Mst f these are f simple, lw cst/n cst changes that really make a difference. They give schls a set f research- based tls that make the unchrm
and use the cafeteria envirnment itself t impact what kids chse and eat in schl. T evaluate yur cafeteria and begin implementing the changes as needed, start by asking these simple questins: Smarter Lunchrms Objective A: number f Students wh select Fruit. Is the fruit cnvenient, well lit and available in at least tw lcatins in the lunchrm? (In ur studies, mving and highlighting the fruit increased sales by up t 102%) Can yu see the fruit clearly as yu make yur way dwn the lunch line? Is it cnvenient r easy fr an average height student in yur schl t reach ut and take it? Are there barriers* between the student and the fruit, such as a sneeze guard that interferes with visibility and access? If the answer is yes, find a way t get it ut in the pen.* Is it clse t the register?* If nt, lk fr the mst visible and cnvenient, easy t reach spt near the register. Yu may have t mve smething in rder t give fruit the best lcatin. Find anther highly visible spt (such as a salad bar r near the milk) and put fruit there as well.* Lk at the lunch line frm the perspective f the students in yur schl. Remember t cnsider the height and reach f the kids. Yu may have t bend ver t lk at the line frm their pint f view and imagine hw far they can reach. If wrkers in yur schl serve fruit t students, put all the emphasis n visibility and display!! Put it in a nice basket r bwl, anything t get it ut f the stainless steel serving pans. *Sme schls may be required t place fruits with edible peels (ie apples) behind a sneeze guard. If s, cnsider wrapping r cutting them up and placing them in baggies, befre placing them in the ptimal lcatin. If that is nt pssible, additinal lighting & signage may increase student awareness f the available fruits. Smarter Lunchrms Objective B: number f Students wh select Vegetables. Are vegetables creatively named and displayed mre attractively than ther ptins? (In ur studies, naming vegetables (and having the names displayed with the fds) increases selectin frm between 40% and 70%). D the vegetables have inviting and age apprpriate names? Yunger children respnd t fun, creative names like X- Ray Carrts, while lder student respnd t names that include descriptive r taste- enhancing wrds like spicy, fresh r wild. invlves kids in the cafeteria Creating a SNAC cmmittee is a great way t d this. Make sure the names are visible, written n a pster r name card next t the vegetables (they can be hand written with dry erase markers n a laminated card). Finally, make sure that the veggies are mre prminently displayed and better lit than the ther side dishes. Smarter Lunchrms Objective C: number f Students wh select White Milk. Is White Milk displayed mre prminently (in frnt f) than all sugar added beverages and in every refrigerated cler in the lunchrm? Des white milk represent 1/3 f all milk visible in the cler? (In ur studies, placing white milk first has resulted in an increase f up t 46% in milk sales). Is the white milk in all beverage clers and the mst visible and easiest t reach f the drinks fr sale?
Is white milk 1/3 f the ttal number f visible milk cartns? Take a quick cunt f all the milk cntainers yu can see in the cler. If yu can see 60 milk cartns f milk, at least 20 shuld be white milk. If the answer t either is n, mve the milk in frnt f the ther ptins and increase the amunt f white milk that is visibly displayed. The white milk shuld als be the first and easiest milk fr kids t grab. As little effrt as pssible (limited bending and reaching) shuld be needed fr kids t select white milk. Put it in frnt f the flavred milk. Smarter Lunchrms Objective D: number f Students wh select Targeted Entrees. Is the entrée yu want t prmte the first r mst prminent in the lunch line? (In ur studies, the first r highlighted item in line has an 11% advantage ver the secnd ptin.) Basic cncepts are the same as number ne. Visibility is the key. Determined which entrée yu wish t highlight (least calric, mst nutrient dense, lwest sdium, etc). Des it have it a name and is the name prminently displayed next t the item? Is the targeted entree easy t reach (if the students are serving themselves) and mre visible than ther items? If students are being served, give the entrees the star treatment in terms f display and prmtin t make it mre visible than ther ptins. D everything yu can t make sure that this is the entrée the kids see first. Smarter Lunchrms Objective E: number f Students wh select Reimbursable Meals. Are the healthy cmpnents f the Reimbursable Meal the mst cnvenient and visible items in the lunchrm? (In ur studies, the number f student cnsumptin f healthy items increased by 35% after the intrductin f a healthy chices nly cnvenience line) Visibility and cnvenience are again the key. Are all the cmpnents t make a reimbursable meal available at every lcatin where students can buy any type f fd? Is it easier fr a student t purchase RM cmpnents than it is fr them t buy cmpetitive fds? Implementatin f the chices in Objective A, B, C & D will give the RM cmpnents an advantage ver ther items in the lunchrm. lcatins where students can select them is helpful. Take advantage f every pint f interactin. RMs shuld be available at the snack windw and any cnvenience line yur schl may have. Encurage staff t knw what the cmpnents f the RM are and t. Final take away: Lcatin, Visibility and Chice are everything. Peple are mre likely t chse the first thing they see. And we knw frm ur research that kids are mre likely t actually eat fds that they chse fr themselves. If yu can implement these changes, r augment what yu are all ready ding t fully answer yes t these questins, yu will see a change in the fds yur students are selecting AND eating.
Examples Objective Befre After 1. Is the fruit cnvenient, well lit and available in at least tw lcatins in the lunchrm? 2. Are vegetables & entrees creatively named? 3. Is White Milk displayed mst prminently? Des it represent 1/3 f all beverages available? Carrts Bean Burrit Nte Variety, Display & Signs X- Ray Visin Carrts Dubled the cnsumptin f carrts Big Bad Bean Burrit Increased burrit cnsumptin by mre than 40%! 4. Is the targeted entrée the first r mst prminent n the lunch line? 5. number f Students wh select Reimbursable Meals (cnvenience).
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