Designing a Better Food Environment

 What we eat is influenced by more than just our hunger or our willpower – we are all influenced by what is available, affordable and attractive. Food companies, restaurants and stores know this, which is why food advertising is such big business! Explore ways that your school might create a better food environment that promotes good choices by making them appealing and affordable. 

• Involve students in taste-tests to gain support for new foods, and to let students know you care about their opinion and that they have a say in what is being served. 

• Offer choice and lots of color. The perception of choice has a profound impact on consumption. Just asking kids if they want “carrots or celery” will increase consumption from 69% to 91%, compared to serving either carrots or celery alone. One study found kids prefer 6 different colors on their plate! Try using mixed greens, instead of just one green for salads; or have a colorful mix of veggies or different colors of fruit in a bowl, rather than just one option.

• Make food fun Give it fun names (Pumped-up Potatoes, Rockin’ Romaine); cut food into fun shapes or bite-size pieces and kids will often eat more.

• Set the scene. Food presentation and environment are powerful influencers of choice. Create a vibrant lunchroom. Research shows just by having fun, colorful posters of kids eating fruits and veggies can help kids eat them, too!

• Positively promote better choices, like fruits and veggies, through tastings, signage, pricing and placement. For example: Showcasing fruits/veggies in visible, convenient and high-traffic areas will increase consumption. 

Instead of taking chocolate milk away, make white milk more convenient and more ‘normal.’ Simple (no-cost) changes can increase the uptake of white milk over chocolate:  

• keep at least some white milk in all beverage coolers  
• make white milk at least a third of all visible milk in the cafeteria  
• put white milk in front of other beverages in the cooler  
• bundle white milk with all “grab and go” meals  as the default beverage.

Adjusting prices so that better choices are more  affordable than sugary foods/beverages  will also encourage consumption.