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Research Article| Volume 50, ISSUE 4, P332-339.e1, April 2018

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A Plate Waste Evaluation of the Farm to School Program

Published:November 14, 2017DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2017.10.005

      Abstract

      Objective

      To investigate the impacts of the Farm to School (FTS) Program on the selection and consumption of fruits and vegetables.

      Design

      Plate waste data were recorded using the visual inspection method before and after implementation of the program.

      Setting

      Six elementary schools in Florida: 3 treatment and 3 control schools.

      Participants

      A total of 11,262 meal observations of National School Lunch Program (NSLP) participants in grades 1–5.

      Intervention

      The FTS Program, specifically local procurement of NSLP offerings, began in treatment schools in November, 2015 after the researchers collected preintervention data.

      Main Outcome Measures

      The NSLP participants' selection and consumption of fruits and vegetables.

      Analysis

      Data were analyzed using Mann–Whitney U and proportions tests and difference-in-difference regressions.

      Results

      The NSLP participants at the treatment schools consumed, on average, 0.061 (P = .002) more servings of vegetables and 0.055 (P = .05) more servings of fruit after implementation of the FTS Program. When school-level fixed effects are included, ordinary least squares and tobit regression results indicated that NSLP participants at the treatment schools respectively consumed 0.107 (P < .001) and 0.086 (P < .001) more servings of vegetables, on average, after implementation of the FTS Program.

      Conclusions and Implications

      Local procurement positively affected healthy eating.

      Key Words

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