School lunch program surveys

School-age children—like the rest of society—face an escalation of diet-related illness, including diabetes and obesity. School lunches that support healthful food choices and sustainable practices can produce immediate benefits, both for student health and well-being, and also for the school and the larger community.

Students may not have the power to effect big changes in the lunch offerings, but even small changes can make a difference. In Oregon, for example, schools offer one locally grown fruit or vegetable a month, which has resulted in kids enjoying and eating more fresh foods. In Florida, students sample and vote for possible new menu items for their school cafeterias, helping school nutrition staff identify recipes that meet nutrition standards and appeal to student taste buds.

While we have compressed schedules and lunch can be hectic, the volume of uneaten food is extremely high and needs to be addressed. We ask parents to reinforce the value of the lunch program and the need for children to eat the lunch they bring or buy daily.

In an effort to engage our parents and improve this process, we will track the refuse we produce and send home periodic reports and reminders. We want and we need your help in communicating this to your students. Again, thank you to our families for your participation and feedback in our cafeteria survey. Look for further information in the coming weeks as we finalize our new offerings. This is not meant to be a quick fix, but will be an ongoing assessment over the next year or more.

With the help of our families and our advisory committee, we believe we can offer a high-quality, nutritious, and cost competitive lunch program at St. Get ideas, inspiration, and knowledge to help you teach and model sustainable living in your school community. School Lunch Survey Lesson for grades Students learn about conducting surveys and presenting recommendations for improving their district's meals. Grade Level: 6—8 Key Concepts: A survey is a tool for learning people's opinions and gathering data on a topic.

Donate Support Education for Sustainable Living. More Like This. Printed Surveys The best place to distribute printed surveys is right in your cafeteria! Try placing them on tables where students are eating, have volunteers distribute them around the lunchroom, or try handing them out to students as they leave the cafeteria.

You can also have teachers share them in their classroom. Online Surveys There are many websites like Survey Monkey that will help you create online surveys.

Set up kiosks where students can stop by at anytime to fill out the online survey. Or, have volunteers use a tablet to gather responses during meal periods.

It might also be worthwhile to have a link on your district website to gather responses. When deciding when to distribute your survey, consider doing one each menu cycle so that the items served are fresh on your students minds.

Or, distribute surveys each season if you prefer conducting these surveys less frequently. When it's all said and done, you want to make sure your program is successful and students are happy! If your cafeteria offerings are geared more towards what your students want, then they will be more likely to eat in your cafeteria.

Topics: School Lunch , free downloads. Heartland Payment Systems Inc.