SMARTERLUNCHROOMSMovement

Making the healthy choice the easy choice!

USE VERBAL PROMPTING

highlighthealthy choices

Instead of telling a student they have to take a fruit or vegetable, give them two options. Simply having a choice, can increase the likelihood a student will eat what was offered.

move morewhite milk

when white milk was placed first in the lunchroom coolers.

Highlight healthier items by giving them fun names and promoting them on a daily menu board or name cards.

Increased sales by

46%

it’s not nutrition until it is eaten

Would you like an apple or an orange with your meal? You can save it for later.

Eating whole fruit can be a tricky task for small mouths and too messy for self-conscious middle schoolers.

Use larger serving utensils for the items you want kids

to take more of (fruits and vegetables) and smaller

utensils for the items you want them to take less of

(condiments).

Decorative elements, such as colorful posters and signage, can make your lunchroom feel more welcoming to students. Identify creative staff and students to help design fun decorations for your lunchroom. Free lunchroom posters are available through Team Nutrition and the Dairy Council.

Kids like having choices. Use your salad

bar to offer a few different choices (and colors)

every day.

Place your healthiest entrée at the beginning

of the lunch line to boost selection of that item.

Put the salad bar in a central location within the

lunchroom to increase salad sales.

manageportion size

slice up the fruit

60%

Adding floor decals to the

lunchroom not only adds a fun colorful element, but

can also help guide the flow of lunchroom

traffic.

add color to thelunchroom

60%Increase in

apple consumption when offered sliced

how to get your

lunchroom moving

Learn More To learn more about Smarter Lunchrooms, see the Washington Smarter Lunchrooms Toolkit for training resources or visit the OSPI Child Nutrition Services website at http://www.k12.wa.us/ChildNutrition/Programs/NSLBP/SmarterLunchrooms.aspx

Assess Your LunchroomComplete a Lunchroom Self-Assessment Scorecard. You can use the simplified Self-Assessment scorecard found in the Washington Smarter Lunchrooms Toolkit or download a scorecard from the link below:http://www.k12.wa.us/ChildNutrition/Programs/NSLBP/SmarterLunchrooms.aspx

Form a Team Don’t go it alone! Get students, school staff, and the community involved with your Smarter Lunchroom. See the “Smarter Schools Edition” of the Washington Smarter Lunchrooms Toolkit for helpful tools.

Make a Move!Start small. Pick a few simple changes to focus on in your lunchroom. Complete the Self Assessment Scorecard every year to measure your progress. Don’t forget to share your success with the community!

You’re already on your way to a Smarter Lunchroom!

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We sincerely thank the school nutrition staff at Victor Fall Elementary in Sumner School District in Bonney Lake, WA and Progress Elementary in Central Valley School District in Spokane, WA for volunteering their time as Smarter Lunchrooms Design models for this magazine.

Acknowledgement

References1. Wansink B, Just D, Hanks A, Smith L. Pre-Sliced Fruit in School Cafeterias.

American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2013;44(5):477-480. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2013.02.003.

2. Just, David R. and Brian Wansink (2009), “Better School Meals on a Budget: Using Behavioral Economics and Food Psychology to Improve Meal Selection,” Choices, 24:3, 1-6.

3. Wansink, Brian, and David Just (2011), “Healthy Foods First: Students Take the First Lunchroom Food 11% More Often Than the Third,” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Volume 43:4S1, S9.

4. Wansink, Brian, Koert van Ittersum, and James E. Painter (2005), “How Descriptive Food Names Bias Sensory Perceptions in Restaurants,” Food Quality and Preference, 16:5, 393-400.

5. Wansink, Brian, David Just, and Laura Smith (2011), “What is in a Name? Giving Descriptive Names to Vegetables Increases Lunchroom Sales,”Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, Volume 43:4S1, S1.

6. Wansink B. The Visual Illusions of Food: Why Plates, Bowls, and Spoons Can Bias Consumption Volume. FASEB. 2006;20(4):A618.

7. Wansink, Brian, David R. Just, and Joe McKendry(2010), “Lunch Line Redesign,” New York Times, October 22, p. A10.

8. Hanks A, Just D, Smith L, Wansink B. Healthy convenience: nudging students toward healthier choices in the lunchroom. Journal of Public Health. 2012;34(3):370-376. doi:10.1093/pubmed/fds003.

Smarter Lunchrooms is a program of the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs

Download a free copy of the Washington Smarter Lunchrooms Toolkit at tinyurl.com/SmarterLunchrooms