School Lunch Acceptance

Study & Marketing Plan

By: Susannah Brewton, Tarryn Hake,
Sarah Nahum, Nelson Reames,
Denielle Saitta, Alyssa Schroeder,
Alexandra Tracchio

Table of Contents:
School lunch quality, participation, and
perceptions research
Lunch preparation and service observations
Manager assessment of quality, participation,
and perceptions
Participation data
Plate waste study data
Perception surveys data
Your assessment of quality, participation, and
perceptions

Marketing plan

Marketing plan implementation

Participation data
Plate waste study data

Perception surveys data

Comparison of pre and post
implementation data
Manager assessment of marketing plan
and implementation effectiveness
Your assessment of marketing plan and
implementation effectiveness

Introduction
Location: Statesboro High School

Dates:
August 19-21, 2015

First plate waste study and participation survey

collection

August 31- September 18, 2015

September 21-23, 2015
collection

Marketing plan implementation

Second plate waste study and participation survey

School Lunch Quality, Participation, and Perception Research

Impact of the new U.S. Department of Agriculture school meal standards on
food selection, consumption, and waste.
Purpose: To determine whether or not the new school lunch standards made an impact on students
selection and consumption of foods

Methods: The researchers described the intervention as the implementation of the new school meal
standards at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year. To measure plate waste, they conducted a two
day pre-implementation (before the new school meal standards) and a two day post-implementation
(after the new school meal standards) measurement of consumption using established plate waste
study methods
Results: The researchers found that there was a 23 percent increase in fruit selection, although both entre
and vegetable consumption remained the same as before the new standards. Also, the postimplementation measurement showed entre consumption increased by 15.6 percent, vegetable
consumption increased by 16.2 percent, but fruit consumption remained the same
Conclusion: This study showed that the new school lunch standards have had a positive impact on both

School Lunch Quality, Participation, and Perception Research

Nutrient content of school meals before and after implementation of
nutrient recommendations in five school districts across two U.S. counties
Purpose: To compare the changes in the nutrient content of meals served at school lunches before and
after the implementation of a nutrition intervention
Methods: the researchers compared the nutrient levels of school meals before and after nutrition
interventions at five school districts. They then compared the school menu changes to national school
menu regulations.
Results: Researchers found that in these five school districts, the menu changes that were made resulted in
a reduction of overall calories, sugar, and sodium content. The most significant of these changes were
observed during breakfast when there was a dramatic reduction in sugar, total fat and sodium content
of the meal
Conclusion: Nutrition interventions can have an effect on the nutrient content on the meals offered to
school-aged children and adolescents

School Lunch Quality, Participation, and Perception Research

Competitive foods, discrimination, and participation in the national school
lunch program

Purpose: To observe and discuss competitive foods in the a la carte line and the impact the removal of
these foods has on school lunch participation.
Methods: The researchers implemented an intervention across three schools in the San Francisco Unified
School District that increased the number and diversity of NSLP full meal options and eliminated a la
carte options outside of the school lunch program
Results: The researchers found that when a la carte items were removed, there was an increase in the
participation rates for the National School Lunch Program by an average of 23 percent.
Conclusion: This study showed that it is possible to improve the participation rate in the National School
Lunch Program for qualified students and to successfully remove competitive foods

School Lunch Quality, Participation, and Perception Research

A case for targeting marketing and availability in school food policy:
adolescents food purchases at school and exposure to television,
internet, and video games

Purpose: To report the association between eighth-grade students purchases of sugar-sweetened

beverages and snack foods and these two policy targets: screen-based media (a proxy for exposure to
food advertising) and school-level availability of sugar-sweetened beverages and snack food
Methods: The students were asked what sugar-sweetened beverages the school offered and how
frequently they purchased them. Students were also asked about how often they purchased sweet
snacks. They answered based on three variables: never purchase, purchase one to four times a week, or
purchase one or more per day. Additionally, adolescents were asked to write down how many hours
they spend using various forms of screen-based media during the week and on weekends
Results: The results showed that the average eighth-grade student spends a total of six and a half hours per
day each week watching screen-based media. 20.8 percent of students reported purchasing a
sweetened beverage at school one to four times in the past week and 38 percent of adolescents
reported purchasing a snack one to four times a week
Conclusion: The results of this study were that there was a negative implication of screen-based media on
adolescents and their food choices at school.

School Lunch Quality, Participation, and Perception Research

Promoting the purchase of low-calorie foods from school vending machines:
a cluster-randomized controlled study
Purpose: to investigate the effects of three strategies on the volume of sales from vending machines and on
students product choices
Methods: The strategies were: increasing the availability of low-calorie foods, labeling, and reducing prices
for lower calorie products. There were a total of 13 experimental schools and 15 control schools. The
intervention consisted of three strategies that were introduced in school vending machines in three
successive 6-week phases.
Results: Results showed that moderately unfavorable extra foods (100-170 kcals) were significantly higher in
all phases in the experimental group after implementation. During the last phase, when prices were
reduced, there was a significant increase in favorable beverages in the experimental groups.
Conclusion: The provision of more lower-calorie foods in the vending machine had a positive effect, also
when it was combined with labeling and reduced prices.

School Lunch Quality, Participation, and Perception Research

Observations of marketing on food packaging targeted to youth in retail
food stores

Purpose: To assess food marketing strategies targeted to youth in convenience/corner and grocery stores.
There were two objectives of this study: (1) to examine the extent to which foods marketed to youth on
the Internet and television are also available and marketed in retail food stores and (2) to determine
whether differences exist in the amount of marketing observed across store types and by neighborhood
racial composition
Methods: The sample consisted of 118 stores throughout four Midwestern cities in Illinois. The researchers
looked at 11 different categories for marketing strategies; the categories were: breads and pastries,
breakfast cereals, candy and gum, chips, cookies and crackers, dairy, fruit and cereal bars, ice cream,
non-carbonated drinks, prepared foods, and soda.
Results: The results showed that there was the highest prevalence of available food items (87%) within
convenient stores. Soda had the highest food availability (92%) in the stores and ice cream had the
lowest food availability (62%) in the stores. Grocery stores had the highest average marketing to
availability ratio (57.5%). Non-carbonated drinks (97.7%), fruit and cereal bars (76.9%), and soda (62.2%)
were the most likely to have some type of marketing technique across all stores
Conclusions: The results showed that there is a strong influence on preferences of food purchased due to
the amount of marketing in retail food stores

Lunch Preparation and Service Observations

During our observations we noticed a lot of time was set aside for pizza
preparation by the cafeteria staff.
A 72-hour plate is kept on site in order to be used in case of a food borne
illness claim.
As students get older, they frequent the lunch line more often.
There are various vending machines offering sports drinks, sodas, snacks,
and candy that surround the cafeteria.
The cafeteria houses many TVs that stream the school news.

Manager Assessment of Quality, Participation, and Quality

The manager was very excited about the changes implemented.

Marketing strategy made a positive impact on student lunch participation,

including students selecting healthier meals such as the deli line.
The school staff is developing their menus to match the least popular items
with pizza.
The staff is more able to predict what the students will eat.

Participation Data (pre)

Raw Numbers (average total meals served)

Percent Participation

Week 1 (Aug 3 - Aug 7)

832.4

58.785%

Week 2 (Aug 10 - Aug 14)

906.8

64.040%

Week 3 (Aug 17 - Aug 21)

918.4

64.859%

Week 4 (Aug 24 - Aug 28)

956

67.514%

Total Enrollment at Statesboro High School: 1,416 students

Plate Waste Study Data (pre)

August 19
Pizza selected the most often and all of it eaten
Salad, deli subs, and rolls selected the least often

August 20
Pizza selected the most often and all of it eaten
Deli subs, Sloppy Joes, and salad selected the least often

August 21
Pizza selected the most often and all of it eaten

Perception Surveys Data (pre)

Increased personal preference for bringing lunch

Students had low perceptions toward school lunch quality

Your Assessment of Quality, Participation, and Perceptions

We found little change in the students perceptions of school lunch.
There was a change in the students perception of friendliness of the

lunchroom staff. Our follow-up perception study showed that students

found the staff to be less friendly.

There was more student participation in the deli line on the 21st of
September as well as more students picking up foods via the hot food line

instead of getting pizza.

Marketing Plan
Bulletin board
Eat Mor Deli & Eat Mor Skool Lunch
Hung in the lunchroom above the ice maker
Visible to all students

Tabletop decorations
Advertised the deli and salad line

Advertised school lunch in general

TV slideshow

Marketing Plan Implementation

Who: Alex, Alyssa, Denielle, Nelson, Susannah, Tarryn

What:
Bulletin board- Alex and Alyssa
Tabletop and deli line decorations and deli line labels- Denielle and Susannah
Cafeteria TV Slideshow- Nelson and Tarryn

Where: Statesboro High School cafeteria

When: Monday, August 31, 2015

Marketing Plan Implementation

How:
Bulletin Board Set Up: Alex and Alyssa talked with Martha White about the location of the bulletin
board. After careful consideration, Ms. White decided the best placement would be above the
drink fountain. She chose this location because a lot of students will be able to see the bulletin
board, it is high enough on the wall where it wouldnt be disturbed, and it was big enough to
hold our bulletin board
Tabletop and Deli Line Decorations: Susannah and Denielle talked with the school nutrition
employees to create an appealing display on the deli line. They also inserted the marketing
flyers into plastic tabletop holders and placed them on all the tables throughout the cafeteria.
They were placed on the cafeteria tables every day before lunch by the custodian, Sam
TV advertisements: Tarryn and Nelson created three advertisements to gain the interest of the
students to participate in school lunch. They developed a PowerPoint and uploaded it to a
flashdrive. They contacted the school AV center to ask if the slideshow could be displayed on the
televisions in the cafeteria along with the other daily announcements. They responded with

Participation Data (post)

Dont have from Martha White as of September 30, 2015

Plate Waste Study Data (post)

September 21st
According to our plate waste studies for this day, most students chose chicken sandwiches
and the deli line. Of those students, there was very little plate waste.

September 22nd
Pizza was offered this day, and the majority of students chose this options. Most students
with pizzas ate the entire pizza.
Very few students chose the deli line and spaghetti over pizza.

September 23rd
The majority of students chose popcorn chicken on this day. Very little chicken was wasted.

Perception Surveys Data (post)

The personal preference to bring school lunch decreased post marketing
strategies.
Fewer students agreed that the quality of food was low.

Comparison of Pre and Post Implementation Data

We noticed an increase in deli line participation prior to the implementation
of our marketing plan
We found little change in the students perceptions of school lunch in
comparison to our previous study. However, there was a change in the
students perception of friendless of the lunchroom staff. Our follow-up
perception study showed that the students found the staff to be less
friendly.

Manager Assessment of Marketing Plan and Implementation Effectiveness

Monday, September 21, 2015: returned to Statesboro High School to collect the follow-up data
Martha White (the school nutrition manager of Statesboro High School) said that our marketing
materials made an impact on the students
There was an increase in school lunch participation along with students receiving healthier lunch
options, salads or deli sandwiches (289 students went through the deli line in one day)
There is a difference in participation due to the change in the food menu; pizza used to be offered
every day whereas now it is only offered three times a week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday)
There is more of an increase in school lunch participation seen in the 9th graders
Martha White and her staff were very impressed with our ideas and were also very excited to see
the results

Your Assessment of Marketing Plan and Implementation Effectiveness

Our overall marketing plan showed that there was a positive correlation
between our implemented marketing strategies and school lunch
participation.
However, due to the lunch menu changing from offering pizza everyday to
only being offered 3 days a week we feel our results may be skewed.
From talking with the students, they commented on our marketing efforts.

References
Bhatia, R., Jones, P., Reicker, Z. (2011). Competitive foods, discrimination, and participation in the national school lunch program. American Journal of Public Health,
101(8), 1380-1386.
Cohen, J., Richardson, S., Parker, E., Catalano, P.J., Rimm, E.B. (2014). Impact of the new U.S. Department of Agriculture school meal standards on food selection,
consumption, and waste. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 46(4), 388-394.
Cummings, P.L., Welch, S.B., Mason, M., Burbage, L., Kwon, S., Kuo, T. (2014). Nutrient content of school meals before and after implementation of nutrient
recommendations in five school districts across two U.S. counties. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 67, S21-S27.
Grigsby-Toussaint, D.S., Moise, I.K., & Geiger, S.D. (2011). Observations of marketing on food packaging targeted to youth in retail food stores. Obesity Journal, 19(9),
1898-1900.
Jones, S., Chu, Y.H., Burke, M.P., Teixeira, A., Blake, C.E., & Frongillo, E.A. (2012). A case for targeting marketing and availability in school food policy: adolescents
food purchases at school and exposure to television, internet, and video games. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 7, 1-10.
Kocken, P.L., Eeuwijk, J., van Kesteren, N.C., Dusseldorp, E., Buus, G., Bassa-Dafesh, Z., & Snel, J. (2012). Promoting the purchase of low-calorie foods from school
vending machines: a cluster-randomized controlled study. Journal of School Health, 82(3), 115-123.