The Smarter Lunchrooms Movement conducts research in thousands of schools across the country in order to identify the best ways to nudge students to select and consume the healthiest food in the lunchroom. The Smarter Lunchrooms Movement brings this evidence into school lunchrooms with trainings, materials, and expert advice. The Smarter Lunchrooms Movement is an approved and effective way to meet several policy, systems, and environmental change (PSE) intervention goals for SNAP-ED. The Smarter Lunchrooms National Office offers a certified Smarter Lunchrooms Technical Assistance Provider program that can prepare and empower SNAP-ED staff to provide training and technical assistance to target schools.
Organization
The Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs
What year(s) was this program in place?
2009
How many people participate in this program?
30,000 schools
Who is the target audience?
K-12 school nutrition environments
Program Evaluation
The Smarter Lunchrooms Movement uses the Smarter Lunchrooms Scorecard as the premier tool to measure implementation of research based strategies in the lunchroom. Success in a school is easily demonstrated by before and after scorecard results and before and after photos. Additional successes can be identified using production records, sales records, and by collecting plate waste. A new and improved 60 point Smarter Lunchrooms Scorecard will be released nationally this month!
Relevant Outcomes
Smarter Lunchrooms strategies are grounded in research conducted at the consumer level. Strategies are backed by research in behavioral economics, psychology, and marketing. Implementing Smarter Lunchrooms strategies can result in an 18% increase in fruit consumption and a 25% increase in vegetable consumption.
This article was submitted by Smarter Lunchrooms National Office. For further information contact Heidi Kessler, Executive Director, Smarter Lunchrooms National Office. All logos are used with permission.