Paul Smith's College
A Healthier Lunch LinePresented by: Morgan Horwatt and Amiee DerzanovichMentor: Ruth PinoDecember, 2011A paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Hotel, Resort and Tourism Management as well as Bachelor of Professional Studies in Culinary Arts and Service Management at Paul Smith’s College.AbstractUnhealthy eating is an epidemic in America that is passing from generation to generation. It is becoming more crucial to find ways that can change eating habits at a young age due to the influx of marketing influences. This study will show whether educational marketing or aesthetic marketing is more effective on children’s food choices. The educational marketing will be implemented by interactive taste testing with the students, while the aesthetic marketing will be done by encouraging healthy eating with various wall illustrations and posters in the cafeteria. Both sets of data will be gathered before and after to be compared for effectiveness. Schools are currently struggling to find a way to encourage healthy eating with food that is appealing to a grade school student. If the presentation of food is part of a solution, then this study can help prove that simple changes to the cafeteria setting can reinforce children’s perception of health and help fight obesity and other health issues. AcknowledgementsThis capstone could not have been accomplished successfully without the help of a few astounding people. Our mentor, Chef Ruth Pino, assisted us throughout the entire project. Her review and communication were an essential aspect to our success, while her guidance, knowledge, and expertise with this topic made our capstone possible. Each for their individual support, Joe Conto, Anne Sterling, and Mike Beccaria, played a valuable role in this project’s completion. Their advice, direction, and encouragement lead us to a wealth of information. We are also grateful to have had the assistance of the cafeteria staff at Petrova Elementary School and Saranac Lake High School, Principal Joshua Dann and participating students. Lastly, we’d like to thank Stephen Angrisano for the use of his vehicle. Without the generosity of these contributors, this capstone would not have been possible. Words cannot express our gratitude to all of you. Table of ContentsAbstract …………………………………………………………………….…............iiAcknowledgements ……………………………………………………………….......iiiList of Appendices…………………………………………………………………......vIntroduction…………………………………………………………………………….1Literature Review……………………………………………………………………...2Methods………………………………………………………………………….….…9Results…………………………………………………………………………….…..11Discussion………………………………………………………………………….…16Reference List…………………………………………………………………….…..19List of AppendicesAppendix A: Petrova Elementary Cafeteria, Before Changes…………………….…..28Appendix B: Petrova Elementary Cafeteria, After Changes…………………………..29Introduction Approximately one-third of children and teens in the United States are obese or overweight (Singleton-Rickman, L., 2010). This has become a critical epidemic in the United States, especially compared to past years (Ferry, R., 2011). Companies spend large amounts of money marketing to children because they are aware of the influence that the advertisements have on their food choices (Center for Science and Public Interest, 2003). The Government is now turning towards researchers to find solutions to better the school lunch program, in which marketing and aesthetics have a positive effect on the children (Back, J., 2010). The primary and secondary research of this capstone will aim to verify which method of marketing, aesthetic or educational, will be more effective in the sales of healthy food options. This will reveal which direction is more practical for schools to be implementing in order to fight childhood obesity.Literature ReviewIntroductionThe percentage of obese children and adolescents, between ages 2 and 19, has more than tripled in America since 1980 (Centers for Disease Control, 2009). The 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey shows that approximately 17% of 2-19 year olds are obese in America (Centers for Disease Control, 2010). These statistics make these children more susceptible to cardiovascular disease as well as bone and joint problems, not to mention the social and psychological issues they could endure. Because obese children are likely to become overweight as adults, this makes them more apt to acquire heart disease, type 2 diabetes, various types of cancers, stroke, and osteoarthritis as they get older (Centers for Disease Control, 2010). According to Shirley Watkins of the United States Department of Agriculture, only 2 percent of children in school consume a diet that meets the Food Guide Pyramid serving recommendation (2001). When something is as crucial to the human body as certain foods are, how can these ingredients get passed off and not promoted? Looking into the public school system’s cafeterias, it is easily noticed that students are difficult to market to, especially in the health category. “Only 2% of advertising by food manufactures is for fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans combined; the foods that should make up the bulk of a healthy diet” (Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2003). HistoryIn 1853 the first free school lunch program was offered in the United States of America. School lunches were originally intended to give children a nutritious meal while they were away from home. The menus that were developed were carefully created by nutrition scientists to ensure that the children were eating the food that was needed for their bodies to properly develop. Original lunch options were beans, rolls, milk, and various sandwiches, with the intention of keeping it simple, easy and economical. After the realization that there were too many children under-nourished, it became the schools responsibility to fix that problem (Olver, 2004). What Has ChangedOver time, the perception of food has been altered drastically. USDA concluded that “Foods with the highest advertising intensity tend to be the ones over-consumed relative to Federal Dietary Recommendations, such as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans” (Gallo, 1999). If there was only a way for health foods to be over advertised, this statistic would make the world a better place. “The school environment has the potential to affect national obesity prevention efforts both because of the population reach and the amount of time that students spend at school each day. Children obtain about one-third of their total daily energy requirement from school lunch (USDA, 2004a), and should expend about 50 percent of their daily energy expenditure while at school, depending on the length of their school day” (Liverman, C. T., 2005 p. 237).In contrast to schools, where portions can be controlled, outside sources cannot monitor consumption. Therefore it’s essential to have as much of an influence on their eating habits when we can. With the increasing obesity rates, it’s truly crucial for outside sources to try and turn around these statistics. If there is a general method to educate children on this topic, it will greatly decrease their risks of obesity and related diseases (Centers for Disease Control, 2010).In thirty years the obesity rate in children ages 2-5 has increased from 5% to 10.4%. For children between 6 and 11 it’s increased from 6.5% to 19.6%. Among adolescents the rate has increased from 5% to 18.1%, in that same period (Ogden, C., 2010). Let’s Move!, the initiative launched by Michelle Obama, illustrates how America’s perception of health has changed extremely in such a short amount of time. Just thirty years ago children and adults were living very different lives that kept them at a healthy weight. Children’s daily activities included much more time outside than they do today; they walked to and from school, kept active during recess and gym class, and played outside during free time. Their diets consisted of less processed and fast-foods and mainly home cooked meals, with smaller and more reasonable portion sizes. Portion sizes are now two to five times larger than they were in the past, right along with sugar-sweetened beverage sizes. Today, free time is spent in front of the television or playing video games, and families are much busier and resort to quicker, more convenient, and often less healthy meals. Another major element is snacking; it has become part of the norm for children to snack more often than in the past. All in all, the average American is now eating 31% more calories than forty years ago and 8 to 18 year olds spend an average of seven and a half hours a day in front of the television or using video games or some sort of technology (2010).Government RegulationsThe United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) established that school lunches must provide foods including grain products, fruits, and vegetables. It instructs that students should limit themselves to sodium, fats, cholesterol, and high amounts of fiber, with exceptions to students with disabilities or religious and ethnic needs. The USDA’s nutrient standard menu planning approach gives a target calorie count that lunches must meet (however, they don’t specify a maximum), as well as the Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, and protein. Beginning in 2001, the USDA instructed that schools must not make foods of minimal nutritional value (FMNV) available while lunch is being served. Foods of minimal nutritional value include soda water, water ices, chewing gum, and certain candies. The USDA also won’t allow schools to purchase these items with government funding. It’s required that schools offer students at least three items for lunches, with students being required to take the main entrée. Milk or a milk substitute must be offered, and if a student is unable to drink milk, then it’s required to have a nondairy alternative available (Lynne, C., 2011).Government Funded Studies The USDA has announced an initiative to improve children’s eating and the nutrition provided at school through psychological means. They are giving $2 million to food behavior scientists to determine what schools need to do to improve the health of students. These marketing techniques have already been used at restaurants and grocery stores, so the USDA wants to implement these same tactics (Carr, H., 2010). Researchers have concluded that completely banning foods such as French fries and cookies encourage children to look for their fix somewhere else. Brian Wansink, the Director of Cornell’s Foods and Brand Lab, specified that the presentation during lunch has been the issue, not only what food is being served. When fruit was displayed in well-lit areas with attractive baskets, sales of fruit in one school went up 54% at the end of a two week period. According to Wansink, it would have gone up faster, but the school kept running out of fruit (Black, J., 2010). Another helpful tactic is moving the salad bar in front of the cash register, similar to how grocery stores have the candy racks at the cash registers (Carr, H. 2010). With this one simple move researchers found an increase in sales by 200-300% (Black, J., 2010). The Cornell lab has also discovered that when students pay with cash, they are more likely to buy fruits, vegetables milk, and water, whereas when given a debit card, students are more apt to choose the dessert, chocolate milk, and other junk foods. In spite of these results, Wansink doesn’t suggest an all-cash system, but rather simply limiting what students can purchase with their debit cards. If they want to spend the extra money for the cookie, they would have to pay cash. They have also found verbal prompts from lunch staff to be successful; by simply asking each student if they would like to add fruit or fruit juice to their lunch, 90 percent of the students took an item, whereas with no verbal prompt only 60 percent of students took one of the items (Black, J., 2010). The Professionals at WorkAlthough lunch staff has worked to improve children’s eating, this movement has now been placed in the hands of professionals. Alice Waters and Jamie Oliver have gotten many people, including children, on board with their practices of eating healthy in school. Both of these legends have proven that cafeterias don’t need to be just tater tots and meatloaf.“This Food Revolution is about changing the way we eat. We need to start cooking again, to make sure our children don’t grow up on a diet of processed food, at school or at home, and so they won’t have to battle obesity and diet-related illnesses when they grow up. Cooking is one of the most important skills a person can have and it has been proven that families that cook together eat better. A small change in your kitchen could save the life of someone you love. America needs to do something now, before it’s too late.” –Jamie Oliver ("Jamie's platform for,”). Jamie Oliver is a very passionate man that wants what is best for all people. He has come up with a set of ideas that the government can help in aiding the wellness of school lunches. Many of his suggestions are to find more money for better food. The importance of quality food is huge. People’s diets would improve greatly if they began eating foods that were better quality and they actually received the nutrients that these foods offer. Another idea is to put professionals in charge of school kitchens. It is important that lunches get back to their original plan of being nutritious for all students. Jamie Oliver has not only come up with these world changing ideas, but he has already implemented them in schools across the country (“Jamie’s platform for,”).Among Jamie Oliver, Alice Waters has her own stance on how to improve school food as well. Alice Waters has created edible schoolyards that not only feed students, but also educates them. This idea implements numerous components of education, pulling in various outside sources. These edible schoolyards give children the opportunity to study the science of growing, grasp where food comes from, understand the techniques of cooking, and the confidence to form relationships and build community. Because there are so many elements involved the need for teachers, chefs, gardeners, landscape architects, businesses, school administrators, craftsmen, and anyone from the community are able to merge together to create a fabulous product (“The edible schoolyard,” 2006). So many children have benefited from this type of education and it is something that they will carry with them throughout their lives. ConclusionWith numerous minor changes; such as rethinking the color scheme, where and how foods are displayed, and how the food is marketed to the children, schools can manage what their students consume. With American’s current childhood obesity statistics it’s essential that everyone in all communities take action. Researchers and scientists from Cornell are continuing to find results on how to improve the lunch room set up (Black, J., 2010). If schools start executing ideas similar to the strategies of Alice Waters and Jamie Oliver, then they should see results in their students’ lunch choices almost instantly.MethodsThe goal of this project is to discover which method of marketing, educational or aesthetics will alter what nutritional choices children make. Cafeteria marketing has already been researched by Cornell, funded by the Government, and encouraged by Jamie Oliver and Alice Waters, among other participants. The student’s lunch participation data will be obtained through analytical accumulation with the entire Petrova Elementary school sales. The addition of focus groups with 4th and 5th graders will take place for the educational marketing. All of the information will be collected before and after educational and aesthetic changes occur in the lunch room. Both marketing strategies will begin by establishing a good relationship with the Food Service Director at Petrova Elementary School in Saranac Lake, New York, and set clear guidelines as to what the project will entail.Next, the educational marketing will be implemented with a focus group of taste tests held between once and twice a week for twelve weeks. The process will include the small preparation of new healthy items that will be served for lunch in the near future. Samples will be distributed to one group of students determined by class, 4th and 5th alternating by lunch table. Approximately eight students will be asked to discuss the taste, look, and recommendation of the item that was sampled. The aesthetic marketing will be conducted with student paintings and appealing and informative posters in the cafeteria at Petrova Elementary School. Data collection will begin before the wall art is displayed and will be compiled after an eight week period for end results. These results will all be gathered, recorded, and summarized. The participation rates of the school lunches will determine whether or not the children let the ambiance affect their eating decisions. Finally, the results from all studies will be tabulated and recorded. The final step will be to run the numbers from the point of sales system (POS) and see if school lunches and healthy options made a rise in sales. This will discover what avenues worked best and then these ideas can be put into action in daily lunch participation.Petrova Elementary School students were the chosen population for this project. Their significance to this project is that these students are the decision makers for the future. It is important to portray the image of healthy foods as early on in their lives as possible so that this will influence their decisions as time goes on. In addition to the entire elementary school population, the educational marketing has a strong focus on the 4th and 5th grade classes. This population is of value because these students have an influential role in the school to the preceding grades as well as having the knowledge to comprehend the idea of healthy foods and being able to put them into action. If educational and aesthetic marketing proves to have an effect on students' choices, then this project will show that proper marketing in an elementary school cafeteria can alter what choices these children make on a daily basis. The results of both of the gatherings of this project will be compared to determine if this is the direction that schools need to move towards to encourage healthy eating, and in the long run fight childhood obesity. If so, simple and cost efficient changes can be implemented to begin is action throughout schools. ResultsThe results from the aesthetic marketing did not come back as expected. Participation rate at Petrova Elementary School was collected for September, October and November of 2010, before any changes to the cafeteria (Refer to Appendix A). Data was also collected for September, October, and November of 2011, after changes were made to the cafeteria (Refer to Appendix B). After averaging all three months together for each year, they were compared to find how the participation rate had changed. There was hope that an increase would show between 2010 and 2011, but instead there was a very minor decrease; 44.5% participation in 2010 to 44% in 2011. In comparison, the results for the educational marketing were rather surprising. The participation rate was also collected from Petrova Elementary school, during the months of February, March, and April of 2010 during the time the project was taking place. The average rate of students that participated in the school lunch program during those three months was 52%. The following year during those same months, February, March, and April of 2011, the same data was collected. The participation rate average for those months had decreased to 44.5%. These results show that the work that was done during the year of the project was quite beneficial but that it did not continue to be helpful in the following year. Figure 1: Participation RatesDuring the study of the educational marketing project, nine items were dispersed to fourth and fifth graders at the Petrova Elementary School. Between six and eight students participated for each taste test. The items that were tasted were a turkey wrap, corn chowder, baked beans, meatballs and gravy, minestrone soup, fish sticks, cole slaw, dried cherries, and granola. Based on a scale of one to five, five being the highest, students rated the taste of the food.TurkeyWrapCornChowderBakedBeansMeatballs& GravyMinestroneSoupFishSticksColeSlawDriedCherriesGranolaStudent 1325155144Student 2525155345Student 3551555545Student 4555555555Student 5555451555Student 6555555555Student 755545Student 855555Figure 2: Student Taste Test DataAfter the student taste test data had been collected an average was calculated to compare the results between different healthy options. Minestrone soup had the highest average score out of all of the foods tested with a five out of five rating, while the meatballs and gravy had the lowest averaged score of a three and a half rating. The results were very surprising with the foods tasted and had a pleasant average number.Figure 3: Student Average RatingLastly, the students were asked if they would recommend the tasted items to friends or if they would order them the next time they were being offered for lunch. 50%-100% of the taste tested items students said they would recommend or purchase. The most recommended items were minestrone soup, dried cherries, and granola all at 100% recommendation rate of the students that had tasted. On the other hand, only 50% of the students that tasted would recommend or purchase the meatballs and gravy or the cole slaw. This data had satisfying results for the project. The goal had been achieved by getting students to taste items that typically had stereotypes in the lunch line. A good majority of these students were very willing to taste and could not wait to order it for lunch the next time it was offered.Figure 4: Recommendation and Purchase RatingDiscussionThe objective of this capstone was to determine if the atmosphere of a school cafeteria would alter how children perceive healthy foods. Ideally, this would then give the government more guidance in how to market healthy foods to young children. By implementing both educational and aesthetic marketing strategies, schools will be given a broader idea of what tactics work best with the students. Both marketing strategies were calculated by comparing alternative years to the years the marketing strategies were implemented. The percentage of obese children and adolescents, between ages 2 and 19, has more than tripled in America since 1980 (Centers for Disease Control, 2009).Children are extremely difficult to market to when it comes to healthy options, especially when unhealthy food is what’s being predominantly marketed (Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2003). With these unbearable statistics, the USDA is trying to improve children’s eating and the nutrition provided to them. They are providing $2 million to food behavior scientists at Cornell to determine what schools need to do to improve the health of students. They are using similar marketing techniques that have already been used at restaurants and grocery stores (Carr, H., 2010). Individuals such as Alice Waters and Jamie Oliver have also taken matters into their own hands, to ideally improve how children perceive nutritious foods. The data collected for the educational marketing showed that in February through April of 2010, the time in which the marketing was practiced, the participation rate at Petrova Elementary School was 52%. In February through April of the following year, participation decreased to 44.5%. This shows that the educational interaction truly benefited the children in eating healthier. The data collected for the aesthetic marketing showed that September through November of 2011, when the aesthetic marketing was first implemented, participation was at 48%. These same months in 2010 the participation rate was at 48.5%. Although there was a very slight decrease when the aesthetics were implemented, it wasn’t enough for concern. This leads to the conclusion that there wasn’t a drastic decrease in participation when a healthier menu was provided. With the limitations of this project, such as time constraint as well as lack of data for anything before 2010, it was difficult to see the full potential of this project. For the educational data, it’s clear that the participation was significantly greater when the study took place, yet it didn’t follow through to the following year. With the aesthetic marketing, although there was a very minor decrease in participation when the marketing was applied, it still leads those in charge to believe that this is a positive outcome, considering participation didn’t drastically drop. There are a few things to consider when looking at these results; there are no set facts implying the outcome is due to the marketing and its unknown how this marketing will evolve in the years to come. An issue worth mentioning is that schools have no control over what students eat at home. With cafeterias providing only one meal a day to students, this leaves two-thirds of child’s daily consumption in the hands of parents, guardians, or the children themselves. This makes it extremely difficult for school regulations to have a longing impact on young children, when it’s unknown what the education level is of the people they rely on to nourish them at home. The lack of knowledge of health and nutrition is unfortunate when it continues to pass from generation to generation, just increasing childhood obesity rates as well as other health issues. Although the government and schools can’t control what children eat for every meal, they can do their part and make sure children are educated at some point in their day, to hopefully transfer these habits into their lives outside of school. The overall goal is to educate students to make healthier decisions long term. If schools can properly market to children at a young age, they have a better chance of retaining this knowledge throughout their lives. As America becomes more aware of rising health issues with children, various strategies are being implemented to offset the unfortunate outcomes. However, unhealthy options are widely marketed, easily obtainable, and effortlessly consumed which creates obstacles for the upcoming generations. With time, and with multiple marketing strategies, students will optimistically become more informed and knowledgeable of nutrition and the long term effects of a balanced diet. Reference ListAdvertising Age. “Special Report: Leading National Advertisers.” June 24, 2002, p.S-6.Barrett, J. (2008, January 1). Section 4 - design to maximize student performance. Retrieved from Best, J. (2011). Public school bans lunches from home. Retrieved from , J. (2010, June 9). Small changes steer kids toward smarter school lunch choices. Washington Post, Retrieved from Carr, H. (2010, October 25). Using psychology to improve school nutrition. School Nutrition, Retrieved from Center for Science in the Public Interest, Initials. (2003, November 10). Cspi hits marketing junk food to kids. Retrieved from Childhood obesity. (2010, June 03). Retrieved from Childhood overweight and obesity. (2011, March 3). Retrieved from Dalton, S. (2004). Our overweight children: what parents, schools, and communities can do to control the fatness epidemic. Berkeley: University of California Press.Defining childhood overweight and obesity (2011, March 3). Retrieved from Gallo AE. “Food Advertising in the United States.” In America’s Eating Habits: Changes and Consequences. Edited by E Frazao. Washington, D.C.:Economic Research Service, USDA, 1999. Agriculture Inromation Bulletin No. 750, pp. 173-180.Jamie’s platform for change. (n.d.). Retrieved from petition Kessler, D. A.. (2009). The end of overeating: taking control of the insatiable American appetite. Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale .Let's move! About. (2010, February 09). Retrieved from Let's move! Learn the facts. (2010, February 09). Retrieved from Liverman, C. T. (2005). Preventing childhood obesity: health in the balance. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.Lynne, C. (2011, January 25). Usda requirements for school meals. Retrieved from Obesity in children. (n.d.). Retrieved from Ogden, C. (2010, June 4). Prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents: united states, trends 1963-1965 through 2007-2008. Retrieved from Olver, L. (2004). Food timeline faqs: school lunches. Retrieved from Overweight children ages 6-17: percentage has increased from 6% in 1976 to 17% in 2006. (2009, August 28). Retrieved from Progress in preventing childhood obesity: focus on schools. (2006). Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. Singleton-Rickman, L. (2010, October 13). Study explores lunch psychology. Retrieved from The edible schoolyard. (2006). Retrieved from USDA, Food and Nutrition Service. (Last modified: 2011, March 22). School meals regulations Retrieved from , B., Just, D., & McKendry, J. (2010, October 25). Lunch line redesign. School Nutrition, Retrieved from , S. (2001, January 12). National school lunch program. Retrieved from 267335033083500-34734532766000Appendix A Petrova Elementary Cafeteria, Before Changes2813685302370800-293370277939500-3422651456055002610485153352500-5264153121025-5264152832103604658283210Appendix B Petrova Elementary Cafeteria, After Changes36034631638300-5797551358900-401320-177801759585-36830144399012937831738192686300-3987212686200 ................
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