Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this project was to assess fruit and vegetable plate waste, examine patterns of selection and consumption of specific fruit and vegetable subgroups, and analyze for differences across gender, grade level, and school. Methods: A previously-validated digital photography method was used to collect plate waste data…

As charter school waitlists around the United States continue to grow, it is important to analyze the factors that are possibly attracting parents away from the traditional public school setting and into the charter school system. Using waitlist data from Pennsylvania to proxy for parental valuation, the article examines numerous factors that…

Background: Food service directors have a concern that federal reimbursement is not meeting the demands of increasing costs of healthier meals. The purpose of this article is to report the food option changes and the annual revenues and expenses of the school food service environment. Methods: The HEALTHY study was a 3-year (2006 to 2009)…

Background: Limited data indicate that obese children are absent from school more than their normal-weight peers. We analyzed administrative data from a large urban school district to investigate the association of obesity and student sociodemographic characteristics with absenteeism. Methods: We analyzed 291,040 records, representing 165,056…

Reviews strategies used by Pennsylvania school food service directors to attract more students and keep down costs in the wake of National School Lunch Program cutbacks. (JBM)

Three school district superintendents discuss their perspectives on the advantages and disadvantages of school districts operating their own food service program or contracting with a private firm. (MLF)