The FNS Research Corner provides a continuing series to summarize recently completed and current research conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in the area of child nutrition. For further information, contact the Office of Policy Support (OPS) at (703) 305-2117. Links to published studies and reports as…

Background:As part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, snacks, and desserts sold in K-12 schools as of the 2014-2015 school year are required to meet the "Smart Snacks" nutritional guidelines. Although studies exist in tracking progress in local and national efforts, the proportion of snack food procured by school districts compliant…

The present study evaluated active, hands on foodservice training delivered through smart glasses compared to passive, strictly video-based training. Handwashing performance variables were measured, including frequency and efficacy. Participants in the strictly video-based group (N = 24) were four times more likely to wash hands than the smart…

The purpose of this case study was to examine how students with severe disabilities participated in service-learning at a food pantry and the curricular goals they addressed. Service-learning is a form of experiential learning that blends classroom instruction with community service. Participants included 3 high school students with severe…

The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was reauthorized to create school environments that provide nutrient-dense meals to students who are living in poverty. The free and reduced-price lunch program helps 19% of students who are living in poverty in America (Kids Count Data Center, 2017). These students arrive at school hungry and often times…

All school districts have children attending who have special dietary needs due to a disability or a food allergy or intolerance. In order for these children to attend school, their dietary needs must be addressed since they are unable to eat meals prepared for the general student population. There is federal legislation which provides guidance…

Purpose/Objectives: Schools are offering more fruits and vegetables; yet consumption of fruits and vegetables among adolescents remains low. Many schools are implementing Farm-to-School programs to help generate excitement and increase selection of fruits and vegetables by students. The purpose of this research was to determine if a simple tasting…

Unlike many other graduate career pathways in the UK, the food industry does not have a cohesive competency framework to support employers, students and degree providers. Food sciences-based technical graduates are a significant proportion of the industry's graduate intake; this study aims to provide such a framework. Initial work involving a…

In 2001, contracting out for school support services by Michigan school districts was a rare practice. Less than one in three districts used private providers for food, custodial or transportation services. Today, 16 years later, the tables have completely turned: it is more unusual to find a district that does not outsource at least one of these…

This First Look report introduces new data for national and state-level public elementary and secondary revenues and expenditures for fiscal year (FY) 2022. Specifically, this report includes the following school finance data: (1) revenue and expenditure totals; (2) revenues by source; (3) expenditures by function, subfunction, and object; (4)…

Computational creativity, the generation of new, unimagined ideas or artifacts by a machine that are deemed creative by people, can be applied in the culinary domain to create novel and flavorful dishes. In fact, we have done so successfully using a combinatorial algorithm for recipe generation combined with statistical models for recipe ranking…

Purpose/Objectives: School Food Focus (Focus) developed the Focus Midwest project on the premise that school food professionals (SFPs) could work together to minimize effort and maximize potential to find new or improved products to serve. Focus designed this project as an experiment to explore how and to what extent this collaborative approach…

Building on the success of the SNAC (Supporting Nutrition Australian Childcare) community, a comprehensive online programme SNACPlus provided professional development (PD) and resources to embed nutrition curriculum and supportive food environments in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services. Process and impact evaluation were conducted…

There has been to date a long tradition of research in workplace discourse. The bulk of the research has focused on professional white-collar workplaces, but a handful of studies have examined working-class settings such as factories and building sites. This area of research has, however, been concerned with interactions involving co-workers.…

Background: The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) presents challenges for foodservice directors (FSDs) in sourcing and preparing foods that meet nutrition standards. Concurrently, community health coalition members (CHCs) are engaging schools through community and school nutrition initiatives. We hypothesized significant differences in…