TY - JOUR
T1 - The Efficacy and Cost-Effectiveness of Replacing Whole Apples with Sliced in the National School Lunch Program
AU - Palmer, Shelly
AU - Metcalfe, Jessica Jarick
AU - Ellison, Brenna
AU - Wright, Toni Kay
AU - Sadler, Lindsey
AU - Hinojosa, Katherine
AU - McCaffrey, Jennifer
AU - Prescott, Melissa Pflugh
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the University of Illinois, Division of Nutrition Sciences, University of Illinois Interdisciplinary Collaborations in Extension Grant, and the USDA National Instituted of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project 1015725. Any opinions, findings, or recommendations in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the University of Illinois or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Funding Information:
Funding: This research was funded by the University of Illinois, Division of Nutrition Sciences, University of Illinois Interdisciplinary Collaborations in Extension Grant, and the USDA National Instituted of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project 1015725. Any opinions, findings, or recommendations in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the University of Illinois or the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/12/1
Y1 - 2021/12/1
N2 - The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) serves 29.6 million lunches each day. Schools must offer ½ a cup of fruit for each lunch tray. Much of this fruit may be wasted, leaving the schools in a dilemma. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the consumption of whole vs. sliced apples and determine the cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Researchers weighed apple waste at baseline and three post-intervention time points in one rural Midwest school. The costs of the intervention were collected from the school. The cost-effectiveness analysis estimates how often apples need to be served to offset the costs of the slicing intervention. A total of (n = 313) elementary student students participated. Students consumed significantly more sliced as compared to whole apples in intervention months 3 (β = 21.5, p < 0.001) and 4 (β = 27.7, p < 0.001). The intervention cost was USD 299. The value of wasted apple decreased from USD 0.26 at baseline to USD 0.23 wasted at post-intervention. The school would need to serve 9403 apples during the school year (54 times) to cover the expenses of the intervention. In conclusion, serving sliced apples may be a cost-effective way to improve fruit consumption during school lunch.
AB - The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) serves 29.6 million lunches each day. Schools must offer ½ a cup of fruit for each lunch tray. Much of this fruit may be wasted, leaving the schools in a dilemma. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the consumption of whole vs. sliced apples and determine the cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Researchers weighed apple waste at baseline and three post-intervention time points in one rural Midwest school. The costs of the intervention were collected from the school. The cost-effectiveness analysis estimates how often apples need to be served to offset the costs of the slicing intervention. A total of (n = 313) elementary student students participated. Students consumed significantly more sliced as compared to whole apples in intervention months 3 (β = 21.5, p < 0.001) and 4 (β = 27.7, p < 0.001). The intervention cost was USD 299. The value of wasted apple decreased from USD 0.26 at baseline to USD 0.23 wasted at post-intervention. The school would need to serve 9403 apples during the school year (54 times) to cover the expenses of the intervention. In conclusion, serving sliced apples may be a cost-effective way to improve fruit consumption during school lunch.
KW - school nutrition
KW - food waste
KW - implementation science
KW - behavioral economics
KW - Food waste
KW - School nutrition
KW - Implementation science
KW - Behavioral economics
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U2 - 10.3390/ijerph182413157
DO - 10.3390/ijerph182413157
M3 - Article
C2 - 34948766
SN - 1660-4601
VL - 18
JO - International journal of environmental research and public health
JF - International journal of environmental research and public health
IS - 24
M1 - 13157
ER -