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Do Elementary Students Substitute Ice Cream and Baked Goods for Healthier National School Lunch Program Meal Items?

Author

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

Abstract

We use variation in à la carte dessert availability to determine its impact on elementary school students’ selection of reimbursable meals and healthful meal components. On days when desserts (ice cream and baked goods) were offered, students were less likely to select a reimbursable meal, and students who purchased a dessert selected fruit significantly less often. Data were collected in the Alachua County School District (Florida) for three weeks in May of 2013. These findings suggest that students substitute desserts for reimbursable meals and the healthier fruit component. Policies, such as Smart Snacks in Schools, that regulate the nutritional content of a la carte items, but do not remove a la carte items from school lunchrooms, may be less effective than intended if such substitution occurs.

Suggested Citation

  • Gabrielle F. Miller & Jaclyn D. Kropp & Sonam Gupta & Kelly A. Grogan & Anne Mathews, 2017. "Do Elementary Students Substitute Ice Cream and Baked Goods for Healthier National School Lunch Program Meal Items?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 39(1), pages 41-64.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:apecpp:v:39:y:2017:i:1:p:41-64.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/aepp/ppw011
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. repec:mpr:mprres:5597 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Anne Gordon & John Hall & Eric Ziedman & Mary Kay Crepinsek & Melissa Clark & Elizabeth Condon, 2007. "School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study III, Volume III: Sampling and Data Collection," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 50d861848f964b99bd2c5324c, Mathematica Policy Research.
    3. repec:mpr:mprres:5596 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Just, David R. & Wansink, Brian, 2009. "Smarter Lunchrooms: Using Behavioral Economics to Improve Meal Selection," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 24(3), pages 1-7.
    5. repec:mpr:mprres:5595 is not listed on IDEAS
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    À la carte; competitive foods; child nutrition; food selection; National School Lunch Program; Smart Snacks in Schools Nutrition Standards;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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