The Food Revolution in Schools
Ashley Rahn
CI 571: Secondary School Curriculum
Dr. Justin Dennis
Curriculum and Instruction
Southern Illinois University - Carbondale
Summer 2011
Annotated Bibliography
Wojcicki, J., & Heyman, M. (2006). Healthier choices and increased participation in a
middle school lunch program: Effects of nutrition policy changes in San Francisco.
American Journal of Public Health, 96(9), 1-9.
The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) implemented a district wide
change in their school nutrition policy. The change is placed upon food and beverages
meeting the food minimal nutrition value, which mostly bans the sale of artificially
sweetened foods and beverages. The school district also placed regulations on the sale of
snack food and school entrees, the food must "contain no more than 30% total calories
from fat, contain no more than 10% calories from saturated and trans fat....and must
contain specified levels of vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber." Results from this study
found reported the cafeteria food tasted better and increased participation in the school
lunch program grew due to the lunches being free or reduced in price.
Vecchiarelli, S., Takayanagi, S., & Neumann, C. (2006). Student's perceptions of the
impact of nutrition policies on dietary behaviors. Journal of School Health, 76(10), 525531.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) developed and implemented
two comprehensive nutrition policies in their district: The healthy Beverage Resolution
and Obesity Prevention Motion. Vecchiarelli, Takayanagi, and Neuman studied the 12thgrade student's perceptions of the two nutrition policies. The research showed that about
half of the student's felt an impact on the food and beverages they ate and/or drank at
school. The student's who believed the policies were positive in nature, also consumed
less of the banned substances at home as well. Lastly, it was found that male student's
had less favorable perceptions on the school nutrition bans.
Moag-Stahlberg, A. (2004). Action for healthy kids: Focus on state teams. Topics in
Clinical Nutrition, 19(1), 41-44.
Fifty-one state teams across the nation have gathered to create and support the
Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK). The AFHK focuses on sustainability at the state
district, and school building levels, to diminish sedentary lifestyles and malnutrition in
today's youth. These teams consist of education representatives as well as dieticians and
nutrition professionals. Each team in their specified state creates an action plan, which
focuses on developing appropriate goals that meet the needs for the state, culture, and
resources.
Mello, M., Pomeranz, J., & Moran, P. (2007). The interplay of public health law and
industry self-regulation: The case of sugar-sweetened beverage sales in schools.
American Journal of Public Health, 97(11), 13-22.
In 2006, Mello, Pomeranz, and Moran researched the impact of beverage sales in
school systems across America. Some school districts have stepped up to the forefront
and created their own policies regarding what can and/or cannot be sold in schools.
These districts in Richmond, South Carolina, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia have
restricted or banned sale of soda and/or nutrient dense beverages. As of 2006 only 6
states have eliminated the sale of beverages with sweeteners. The Alliance for a
Healthier Generation, "reached an agreement with Cadbury-Schweppes, Coca-Cola, and
PepsiCo to curtail sales of sugar-sweetened beverages in schools." By the 2009-2010
school year 100 percent of the sugar-sweetened beverages were supposed to be "phased
out." The strong point these authors made in their study primarily focused upon creating
a statewide policy and/or mandate to curtail the sale of the sugary drinks in school's.
French, S., Story, M., Fulkerson, J., & Gerlach, A. (2003). Food environment in
secondary schools: À la carte, vending machines, and food policies and practices.
American Journal of Public Health, 93(7), 1161-1167.
The purpose of this study was to investigate school food policies in the à la carte
menu and in the vending machines. This study took place in 20 Minnesota schools and
the Trying Alternative Cafeteria Options in Schools (TACOS) intervention, found that
about 35 percent of foods in the vending machines and on the à la carte menu met the
"lower-fat criterion (less than or equal to 5.5 fat grams/serving). Overall the researchers
found that the secondary school systems do not give the nutrition policy high priority.