The National School Lunch Program and Healthy Eating

An Analysis of Food Selection and Consumption in an Urban Title I Middle School

Datos Bibliográficos

ID9729779
AutoresRobert Kaiser (0009-0002-4035-6805, University of Oklahoma, Norman, USA), Daniel Hamlin (0000-0002-8595-2558, University of Oklahoma, Norman, USA, autor de correspondencia)
Año2024
Volumen56
Número2
Páginas143-163
Fecha de publicación2024-02-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaEducation and Urban Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0013-1245 • E-ISSN: 1552-3535
EditorialSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00131245221110552
OpenAlexW4287922157
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas63

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federal program that provides free and reduced priced lunch to millions of low-income children in urban schools. Empirical research shows mixed results on the physical and nutritional health of urban students participating in the program. However, a considerable limitation of this literature is that it focuses on student participation in the NSLP rather than what students consume when they receive a school lunch. By directly collecting a random of sample of school lunches, we analyze the nutritional content of both selected and consumed school lunches ( n = 141) at a Title I middle school in a large US city. Results indicated that the food items that students select for school lunch are low in nutrients and high in sugar. Furthermore, food that students ultimately consumed during lunch had even lower nutritional value while consumption of sugar remained high. Future research is needed to investigate school-based interventions that leaders can deploy to foster healthy eating in urban schools

Consumption (sociology · Environmental health · Nutrition Education · Psychological intervention · Sociology · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Medicine · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet · Psychology · Urban Agriculture and Sustainability · Gerontology