Is your school lunchroom lively and colorful? Does it promote healthy eating? If not, it’s time to make your lunchroom smarter! The Smarter Lunchrooms movement was created in 2009 by the Cornell University Food & Brands Lab. Smarter Lunchrooms reinforce healthy eating and nudge kids toward nutritious foods by using evidence-based, lunchroom-focused principles to promote healthy eating. Smarter Lunchroom makeovers can involve changes as simple as hanging student artwork or rearranging food in your cafeteria to encourage students to eat healthier options (like fruits and veggies).
Tips to Take Action
- Complete the Smarter Lunchrooms Self-Assessment Scorecard to see what your school is already doing and what could be done better.
- Work with food service staff to review current food displays, from the lunch line all the way to the register. Make note of where healthy food choices could be better highlighted to students.
- When lunchtime rolls around, kids are hungry! Place healthy food options at the beginning of lines. Kids are more likely to order and choose the first item they see.
- Seek approval to move all competitive foods (i.e. snacks students can buy to supplement their meal) behind the serving counter in the regular lunch line so they are available by request only.
- Pick 1, 2, 3+ strategies and implement them, such as:
- Focus on Fruit: A variety of mixed whole fruits are displayed in attractive bowls or baskets (instead of stainless-steel pans).
- Highlight the Salad: Pre-packaged salads or a salad bar is available to all students.
- Move More White Milk: White milk is organized and represents at least 1/3 of all milk in each designated milk cooler.
- Create a Student Nutrition Action Committee (SNAC) to create posters, develop creative names for fruits and veggies, and serve as lunchroom ambassadors.
- Encourage food service staff members to prompt students in line. For example, even saying something as simple as “Try today’s special, it’s delicious!” can increase sales.
- Add Smarter Lunchrooms language to your Local School Wellness Policy using this sample wellness policy language.
Cafeteria Marketing:
- Review your district’s local school wellness policy. These policies are required to include language about restricting food and beverage marketing. Understanding what’s allowable in your district will help you make better decisions.
- Make a list of all healthy and unhealthy food and beverage marketing occurring at your school. Identify 2-3 priorities where you would like to see changes.
- Do your research. Is your school earning money by displaying food and beverage advertisements? If so, how much is your school earning? Is there a particular department or program that benefits from these funds?
- If your school receives funding for displaying advertisements, brainstorm healthier fundraising practices that could be utilized to generate the same amount of funding.
- Promote healthy food and beverage options wherever possible. Work with your school health team to determine areas throughout the school building that have the most student foot traffic or where students are most likely to make food and beverage purchases. Develop a plan to promote healthy marketing in these spaces.
- Market healthy options through taste tests, raffle prizes and other incentives.
- Consider offering and promoting healthy options like water, fruit, and vegetables to students at school events, sport games, after-school activities, concession stands or award ceremonies.
- Require vendors to feature healthier foods and beverages such as water or 100% fruit juice.
- Ask your vending machine vendor if they will place your school logo on the sides of vending machines to limit images of less healthy food and drinks (and to promote school spirit!).
Vending Machines:
How many healthy options are in your school vending machines? Whether the vending machine is available to students or just staff, providing healthy vending options is key to your school’s success in creating a healthier environment and building life-long healthy habits.
If your school participates in the Federal School Meal Program, vending machines that students can access during the school day must provide options that align with the USDA’s Smart Snacks Standards.
Tips to Take Action:
- Complete a vending inventory to determine what healthy items are available and other snacks you would like to add.
- Survey teachers and students to learn about the kinds of healthy snacks they would like to see in vending machines.
- Negotiate with vending companies to increase the number of healthy choices available.
- Educate school staff and students about healthy choices through posters near vending machines, table tents in the staff lounge and cafeteria, and school announcements.
- Work with your vendor to change the pricing structure of vending items to make healthier items more affordable.
- Work with your vendor to change the placement of items in vending machines to make healthier items at eye-level.
- Label the healthiest options with a “Healthy Choice” symbol to help students and staff quickly identify healthy options.
- Host a taste test to sample healthy vending options.
- Institute a “Healthy Snack of the Month” and promote it among students and staff. Place a sticker on the bottom of one of the highlighted snack products and offer a healthy prize to the lucky recipient.