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Project Description Our current projects are being supported by three separate grants, two from the USDA and one from the Cornell Center
for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs. For each of the projects, the data that we use is collected using
an iPhone app that we developed. We’ve created a short video that describes the way we collected data. You can also
download the app that we use from the apple app store called “v-project”.
If your school would like to participate in one of these grants, please contact us at veggies@byu.edu for more information.
We have gone through the research approval process in the Provo, Nebo, Alpine, Granite, and Canyons school districts in Utah,
but we can submit a research application to other districts to include additional schools in the project.
Some of the specific factors that we are examining that might influence the number of kids who eat fruits and vegetables at school include:
- The variety and quality of the items being offered.
- Whether recess occurs before or after lunch.
- The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.
- The availability of less healthy items during lunch (in particular a la carte items).
- The amount of time provided to eat lunch (and high schools where they have one lunch period or two).
- Where the fruit and vegetable items are located in the cafeteria.
We also run a small rewards program that provides each child a special veggie token each day that they eat a
serving of fruits and vegetables. These coins can be redeemed for prizes or spent at the school store. There is
no cost to the school to participate and all the proceeds from the tokens are given to the school. The length of
time that the rewards program is in place will be randomly assigned and vary from 3, 5, or 8 weeks. This project
will test how long a behavioral change needs to be in place before it results in long-run habit change.
We are also examining the degree to which what is served at lunch influences cognitive functioning in children.
The results of this part of the project could help schools begin to view their food service program as a contributing
factor towards achieving their academic goals. |
