Implementing Healthier School Menus - Research Paper Example

 Healthier Menus in County Schools Introduction Childhood obesity has become a significant problem to ensuring the health and academic performance of children today. The Centers for Disease Control indicate that nearly nine million children are obese, representing over 16 percent of the entire American youth population. Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates that only five percent of elementary-aged schoolchildren actually consume the recommended daily allowance of fruits and vegetables. Since this study by this respected Federal agency was conducted in 2001, it is likely that these numbers have increased due to current persuasive marketing for junk food and the growing availability of unhealthy foods in vending machines and supermarkets. A 2009 study by the CDC also indicated that only 32 percent of all American high school students consume their allotted portion of fruit and vegetables. Why is this such a problem? According to professional researchers in health sciences, failure to adhere to the daily allowances of healthy foods offered by the food pyramid can lead to not only obesity, but also cardiovascular disease, increase the risk of stroke at an early age, high blood pressure and Type 2 Diabetes. Students who are obese also can develop sleeping disorders (Dority, McGarvey & Kennedy, 2010) which can lead to long-term comprehension problems and poor academic performance. Sleep disorders and their consequences further represent potential funding liability to the school for not meeting federally-mandated academic standards. This is a significant problem as it relates to the school environment as the current menus being provided in the county schools maintain many different food products that are not classified as healthy eating. Some examples currently offered in the country school district menus include french fries, whole milk with considerably high added fat content, hot dogs, and many other products that contribute to saturated fat intake, thus leading to growth in childhood obesity. It is not just sugary snacks and soda that contribute to the increase in health risks in children, thus the general population and parents of these school-aged children do not actually realize the risks and dangers of the current methodology in the county school menu provision. In order to promote healthy eating and reduce the risks to the health of school-aged children, it is necessary to develop a new policy within the schools’ administration to ensure that the current menu is revised. The school must begin adhering to the proper dietary intake allowances for saturated fat content that are proposed by the Federal food pyramid, as this is a justified and well-respected health resource backed by clinical research on the advice of medical representatives from the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. The solution to childhood obesity and the health risks associated with poor diet is to remove current foods from the school menu that contain significant volumes of saturated fat and replace these items with foods that provide higher nutritional value and vitamin intake. This report highlights the solution to ending school-aged children obesity and health risks by proposing alternative food products that can assist in supplementing healthy lifestyle. Making these changes is also paramount, especially, for lower-income students (who currently make up a large percentage of eaters in the county) as low-income students consume 50 percent of their entire daily food intake within the school system. A Review of Research Literature – Results of Examination From an advertising and marketing perspective, research has identified a problem with how food manufacturers and retailers promote unhealthy products. Boone & Kurtz (2007) identify that nearly three hundred billion dollars, yearly, are spent on advertising using practices meant to persuade children to choose unhealthy food products. Marketers of sodas, fast food products and unhealthy snack foods utilize psychologically-based tactics in order to gain audience attention, thus appealing to their emotions and social preferences. School-aged children often look toward their peers for acceptance and to help establish self-identity, and these marketers understand these principles and thus use actors and scripts that illustrate youth lifestyles in a way that appeals to their motivational needs (Boone & Kurtz). Thus, students find significant emotional connection with junk food manufacturers which continues to lead to problems with obesity. Why is this marketing issue relevant and important for the school district as a potential promoter of healthy eating? The school organization must recognize opportunities for using similar marketing tactics to that of the unhealthy food manufacturers in order to gain student loyalty toward choosing healthy eating options after they have been provided in the newly proposed school menu. Students have complex sociological and psychological development courses from elementary school through high school as they seek moratorium and other relevant peer connections. It is not only the need to change the saturated fat content of current school foods, but also to appeal to motivational drivers through marketing to ensure students will stay committed to eating these products without seeking alternatives elsewhere during school lunch hours. It is not enough to simply change and improve the current school menu in order to provide better health to youths. Once the school districts’ administration has relaunched a new menu, they must also ensure that students are on-board with these changes and will find personal satisfaction in the process. The goal of this proposal is to change attitudes about the viability of eating healthier foods through education, peer modeling, and innovative advertising principles. The Proposed Menu Changes Though such changes would be subject to change via consultation with school administration and ongoing evaluation of program success, the following illustrate healthier substitutes to the current products being offered that contain significant saturated fat content and/or excessive carbohydrate content: Hamburgers Replaced With… Turkey Burgers Hot Dogs Replaced With… Lean Beef Hoagies French Fries Replaced With… Baked Potato Wedges Juice Boxes Replaced With… Reduced Sugar Orange Juice Potato Chips Replaced With… Fat Free Pretzel Packs Though this proposed menu does not represent all of the current existing food products on the school menu requiring revision, it does serve as a proper template to illustrate the potential alternatives that would significantly reduce the risks to children’s health. Through consultation with school nutritionists and the Food and Drug Administration, the school can effectively develop a new process and purchasing system that would not impede current budget for this program or require significant reorganization of the food preparation and distribution processes and systems. The Marketing and Advertising Processes The county school districts should model the menu changes using a system of advertising currently being utilized by New York School Districts. The ratified New York Senate Bill 4886 describes a promotional event labeled the New York Harvest for New York Kids Week in which children are exposed to healthier eating alternatives in the classroom and with cooperation with farmers and farmers’ markets (Schroff, Jones, Frongillo & Howlett, 2012). This program utilizes advertising content that not only educates, but also promotes motivation by using actors who maintain similar lifestyle and attitude to school-aged youths in order to gain attention and loyalty to participating in healthier eating menu options while in school and in the household. The county school districts must consult with sociological experts and counselors well-versed in youth psychology to develop print, online digital media, and audio advertisements (delivered via regular PA systems) so that exposure to the marketing campaign is improved and youths can find enjoyment and recreation in the content formats. The school district should allot accounting expenditures to consist of an ongoing, school-year-long campaign that utilizes audio recordings from current students to improve relationship-based motivations and make the program relevant to youth needs. Further, Raju, Rajagopal & Gilbride (2010) illustrate through quantitative research studies that youths are more likely to respond to marketing content if there are incentives offered to assist in healthy eating philosophies. The school district should develop in-class or enterprise-wide incentives programs, such as extra credit point allocation or reward assemblies, when students have met the short-term goals of embracing the new healthy menu options. School administration, teachers, students and counselors should be integral resources in creating a preliminary survey or questionnaire that describes effective incentives when certain goals have been met. These goals can be evaluated through sales reports of healthy food items, regular surveys on participation distributed to students, and through observation by the school official responsible for food preparation and distribution. In order for incentives systems to be effective, there must be monitoring tools to ensure that the costs of marketing and menu re-purchasing are successful. Refuting Arguments against Menu Changes The county school district currently works with a limited budget for the school lunch program and is absolutely affected by the current economic recession within the United States. The Federal Government has recently issued cutbacks in funding for school lunch programs as well as per-student funding, which limits non-food scenarios such as curriculum development, textbook purchasing, and extra-curricular activities. To combat this ongoing problem with financial resource allocation, this proposal further suggests gaining community attention and devotion to the process. The school administration will elect representatives to meet with local business leaders and parents (as well as direct mailing literature) as a means of improving funding for the new advertising scheme. Those leaders in the community that pledge advertising dollars will be spotlighted in print literature illustrating their sponsorship of the program. This system will ensure that there is adequate funding for the marketing and advertising program and also strengthen the parent and business leader involvement in creating a healthier youth population. This could, hypothetically, ensure between $5,000 and $50,000 as a means to guarantee a more effective program with considerable youth commitment and interest. The current food ordering process is in contract with various food providers across the country. Some representatives of the school district and the current supply chain partners might likely argue that ordering new products would jeopardize contractual obligations or distribution philosophy. The school should be proactive in working with supply partners and purchasing agents to determine inventory adjustment patterns or new delivery dates to ensure a smooth transition from current method to the adjusted menu. By creating new contracts or new partnership agreements, the school district will have a total value chain structure diagrammed before launching the new menu and advertising so that there are no interruptions to supply philosophy or food preparation and distribution processes. Ensuring Success In order for this new program and philosophy to work effectively, all stakeholders in the school district must be included in the planning, implementation and evaluation processes. Through inclusion, and through the development of evaluation tools, the school can adjust new menu philosophy accordingly, thus sparing budget restraints and also improving overall program efficiency. One of the fundamental youth needs, as proposed by Abraham Maslow on his motivational pyramid referred to as the Hierarchy of Needs, is belonging in order to develop healthy youths. Inclusion of the student body in all phases of implementation will ensure more participation and loyalty in the long-term. Conclusion It would have been short-sighted to propose a new menu and simply believe that the school district would find participation and success simply by changing product variety. In order to improve the health and well-being of youths and reduce their risks for poor academic performance and serious health diseases, the school needs a systems-based process and philosophy that includes multiple tiers of action that leads to a desired end result. There are considerable costs of childhood obesity that are much more than just the obvious, as was identified through research. Liabilities to the school and poor academic performance go hand-in-hand and the school, as a business entity, must consider all risks to its strategic position as part of administrative policy. This proposal identifies these risks and proposes quality solutions to ensure that all stakeholders in the program have protections and failsafes in place to ensure success in the new menu program. The new menu will benefit the community, the school districts, and all other actors who will benefit from healthier eating principles and should be implemented immediately. References Boone, L. & Kurtz, D. (2007). Contemporary Marketing, 12th ed. United States: Thompson South-Western. Dority, B.L., McGarvey, M.G. & Kennedy, P.F. (2010). “Marketing Foods and Beverages in Schools: The Effect of School Food Policy on Students’ Overweight Measures”, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 29(2), pp.204-218. Raju, S., Rajagopal, P. & Gilbride, T.J. (2010). “Marketing Healthful Eating to Children: The Effectiveness of Incentives, Pledges and Competitions”, Journal of Marketing, Vol.74, pp.93-106. Schroff, M.R., Jones, S.J., Frongillo, E.A. & Howlett, M. (2012). “Policy Instruments used by States Seeking to Improve School Food Environments”, American Journal of Public Health, 102(2), pp.222-229. Read More