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Nature 12/2007; 450(7169):478. · 36.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The National School Lunch Program is not meeting its nutritional goals. Data for 330 Minnesota school districts are analyzed to derive recommendations for improving the nutritional quality of school lunches. This study finds, contrary to widely held views, that lunch sales do not decline when healthier meals with less fat, for example, are served and that more nutritious lunches do not necessarily cost more. Healthier meals have higher labor costs, but lower costs for processed foods. Indirect costs, paid by the food service to the school district, negatively affect meal quality by decreasing funds to upgrade kitchens and train staff to prepare more nutritious meals. Copyright 2007 American Agricultural Economics Association
Review of Agricultural Economics. 01/2007; 29(4):672-688.
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ABSTRACT: Hopkins School District in Minnesota implemented an innovative school feeding program, which provides nutritionally sound foods that appeal to students. With access to a unique data set containing students’ food service purchases and demographic data from Hopkins High School, we use logit models to analyze the impact of different phases of the program on participation rates, as well as the effect of demographic factors. A relative healthfulness index for the foods purchased is calculated based on information provided by the school dietitian. This index is used to analyze the impact of demographic variables, student lunch expenditures, and program changes on students’ lunch consumption. The results of the econometric models indicate that the program innovations have caused positive behavioral changes in most students and that students are choosing healthier foods than under the old program. Moreover, we find that ethnicity and gender play major roles in determining how students react to the new program in Hopkins.
02/2005;
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ABSTRACT: "In contrast to widely held uncertainties about Sub-Saharan Africa's ability to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), recent successes in African smallholder farming show that agriculture could play a key role in helping the region reach those goals. African governments and the donor community have recognized this potential and have pledged to help generate agricultural progress. This policy brief considers recent trends in poverty, malnutrition, and growth; outlines some of the challenges to boosting agricultural growth; and highlights cases of agricultural success in specific countries. By learning from case studies of smallholder success and building on the new enthusiasm of African governments, donors and their African partners can ensure that agriculture's role in meeting the MDGs is fully realized." from Text
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Issue briefs. 01/2004;
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ABSTRACT: "To end hunger and prevent the recurrence of famine and starvation, we need to take the following steps: invest in public health, child nutrition, education, women's and girls' social status, and other components of human capital; reform public institutions and create innovative funding and partnership arrangements; change government policies at all levels to be both pro-poor and pro-growth; increase funding for scientific and technological research to boost agricultural production and efficiency; and develop specific policies and institutions to deal with environmental degradation caused by population growth. The international community, national governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector must cooperate to bring about these changes, which reach beyond redistribution programs, narrowly focused market-oriented solutions, or campaigns based solely on local self-reliance." from text
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Issue briefs. 01/2003;
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02/2000;
