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The effects of pre-ordering and behavioral nudges on National School Lunch Program participants’ food item selection

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  • Miller, Gabrielle F.
  • Gupta, Sonam
  • Kropp, Jaclyn D.
  • Grogan, Kelly A.
  • Mathews, Anne

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of pre-ordering and pre-ordering with behavioral nudges on the selection of fruits, vegetables, and low-fat milk by National School Lunch Program (NSLP) participants in a Florida school. After collecting two weeks of baseline data, students in grades four and five were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: the first treatment group pre-ordered their lunches online using a unique software program; the second treatment group received behavioral nudges based on United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) MyPlate recommendations while pre-ordering. Student in grades four and seven served as the control group and continued to obtain their lunches through the normal lunch line. Using difference-in-difference regression analysis, we find that students in the first treatment group selected significantly more fruits, vegetables, and low-fat milk during the pre-ordering intervention phase of the study relative to students in the control group, 27.7%, 15.8%, and 16.3%, respectively, while students in the second treatment group selected significantly more fruits (51.4%), vegetables (29.7%) and low-fat milk (37.3%) than students in the control group. In addition, we find the nudge had a statistically significant positive effect in addition to the effect of pre-ordering; students who received the MyPlate nudge while pre-ordering selected statistically significantly more fruits, vegetables, and low-fat milk than students who pre-ordered without nudging.

Suggested Citation

  • Miller, Gabrielle F. & Gupta, Sonam & Kropp, Jaclyn D. & Grogan, Kelly A. & Mathews, Anne, 2016. "The effects of pre-ordering and behavioral nudges on National School Lunch Program participants’ food item selection," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 4-16.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:55:y:2016:i:c:p:4-16
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2016.02.010
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    3. Edouard Civel & Nathaly Cruz-Garcia, 2018. "Green, yellow or red lemons? Framed field experiment on houses energy labels perception," EconomiX Working Papers 2018-35, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    4. Edouard Civel & Nathaly Cruz-Garcia, 2018. "Green, yellow or red lemons? Framed field experiment on houses energy labels perception," Working Papers hal-04141696, HAL.
    5. Ernesto Mesa-Vázquez & Juan F. Velasco-Muñoz & José A. Aznar-Sánchez & Belén López-Felices, 2021. "Three Decades of Behavioural Economics in Agriculture. An Overview of Global Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-21, September.
    6. Edouard Civel & Nathaly Cruz, 2018. "Green, yellow or red lemons? Artefactual field experiment on houses energy labels perception," Working Papers 1809, Chaire Economie du climat.
    7. Belot, Michèle & James, Jonathan, 2022. "Incentivizing dietary choices among children: Review of experimental evidence," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    8. Carolin V. Zorell, 2020. "Nudges, Norms, or Just Contagion? A Theory on Influences on the Practice of (Non-)Sustainable Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-21, December.
    9. Carolin V. Zorell, 2022. "Central Persons in Sustainable (Food) Consumption," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-17, March.
    10. Sara A. Elnakib & Virginia Quick & Mariel Mendez & Shauna Downs & Olivia A. Wackowski & Mark G. Robson, 2021. "Food Waste in Schools: A Pre-/Post-test Study Design Examining the Impact of a Food Service Training Intervention to Reduce Food Waste," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-13, June.
    11. Kelly A. Davidson & Jaclyn D. Kropp & Conner Mullally & Md. Wakilur Rahman, 2021. "Can Simple Nudges and Workshops Improve Diet Quality? Evidence from a Randomized Trial in Bangladesh," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(1), pages 253-274, January.
    12. Ozturk, Orgul D. & Frongillo, Edward A. & Blake, Christine E. & McInnes, Melayne M. & Turner-McGrievy, Gabrielle, 2020. "Before the lunch line: Effectiveness of behavioral economic interventions for pre-commitment on elementary school children's food choices," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 597-618.
    13. Dieneke Van de Sompel & Liselot Hudders & Lore Vandenberghe, 2020. "Cycling for a Sustainable Future. Stimulating Children to Cycle to School via a Synergetic Combination of Informational and Behavioral Interventions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-18, April.
    14. Samek, Anya, 2019. "Gifts and goals: Behavioral nudges to improve child food choice at school," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1-12.
    15. Romain Cadario & Pierre Chandon, 2020. "Which Healthy Eating Nudges Work Best? A Meta-Analysis of Field Experiments," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(3), pages 465-486, May.
    16. Laiou, Elpiniki & Rapti, Iro & Schwarzer, Ralf & Fleig, Lena & Cianferotti, Luisella & Ngo, Joy & Rizos, Evangelos C. & Wetle, Terrie Fox & Kahlmeier, Sonja & Vigilanza, Antonella & Tsilidis, Konstant, 2021. "Review: Nudge interventions to promote healthy diets and physical activity," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    17. Davidson, Kelly A. & Kropp, Jaclyn D. & Mullally, Conner C. & Rahman, M. Wakilur, 2018. "Behavioral Nudges and Nutrition Education in Bangladesh: Experimental Evidence Comparing Food Choices in a Lab Setting to Decisions at Home," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274134, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    18. Mecheva, Margarita de Vries & Rieger, Matthias & Sparrow, Robert & Prafiantini, Erfi & Agustina, Rina, 2021. "Snacks, nudges and asymmetric peer influence: Evidence from food choice experiments with children in Indonesia," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    19. Christine Kawa & Patrizia M. Ianiro-Dahm & Jan F. H. Nijhuis & Wim H. Gijselaers, 2021. "Cafeteria Online: Nudges for Healthier Food Choices in a University Cafeteria—A Randomized Online Experiment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-13, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Food selection; Nudging; Pre-commitment; Pre-ordering; School lunch;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

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