SCHOOL FOOD: AN ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL FOOD ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND NUTRITION-RELATED KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND PRACTICES AFTER A TWO-YEAR UNIVERSAL COMPREHENSIVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
Date
2024-10-07
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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ORCID
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
Background: Child nutrition influences health, well-being, and learning across the lifespan. The quality of the diets of Canadian children during school hours is poor across the socio-economic spectrum. School lunch programs can help to maintain nutrition during the school years.
Purpose: To assess the school food environment and food and nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among elementary school students enrolled in a two-year curriculum-integrated school lunch program compared to students without the intervention.
Methods: Two surveys from the Good Food for Learning project were used for this research. Students’ food and nutrition-related KAP were assessed by a self-administered student survey conducted on 185 participants at baseline and 192 at the endpoint. The school food environment was assessed through a self-administered staff survey with 94 and 20 participants at baseline and endpoint, respectively. Software R was used to analyze the data. Multivariable logistic regression models assessed the factors associated with students’ KAP at the endpoint. The difference in differences (DID) approach was used to assess the effects of the intervention on students’ KAP. Due to some limitations, only frequency and percentages were used for the staff survey data.
Results: Knowledge related to waste management and daily fruit and vegetable consumption improved for the student intervention participants. However, local food production knowledge, environmentally sustainable dietary attitudes, and practices showed no significant improvement. Overall household food insecurity also increased from 38.2% at baseline to 40.3% at endpoint, but it decreased for the intervention group. Multivariable analysis showed that the students who reported their ethnicity as White consumed sugar-sweetened beverages and fast food less frequently than their peers who reported their ethnicity as First Nations, Métis, or Inuit. Frequency percentages increased for food and nutrition-related initiatives in the school context at the endpoint, including school gardening, food-related activities, offering healthy food and food preparation activities. However, there was no increase in composting.
Conclusion: The study results will help us better understand how a school food program can impact students’ food and nutrition-related KAP and student nutrition. The findings can inform the development and implementation of Canada's national school food policy and program
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Keywords
School food environment, Food and nutrition-related KAP
Citation
Degree
Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Department
Community Health and Epidemiology
Program
Community and Population Health Science