Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 18, 2026
Author Spotlight: Advancing Anaerobic Microbiota Research Using a Novel Respirometry Protocol
Published on: April 26, 2024
A Plate Waste Evaluation of the Farm to School Program
Jaclyn D Kropp1, Saul J Abarca-Orozco2, Glenn D Israel3
1Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
Objective:
To investigate the impacts of the Farm to School (FTS) Program on the selection and consumption of fruits and vegetables.
Design:
Plate waste data were recorded using the visual inspection method before and after implementation of the program.
Setting:
Six elementary schools in Florida: 3 treatment and 3 control schools.
Participants:
A total of 11,262 meal observations of National School Lunch Program (NSLP) participants in grades 1-5.
Intervention:
The FTS Program, specifically local procurement of NSLP offerings, began in treatment schools in November, 2015 after the researchers collected preintervention data.
Main Outcome Measures:
The NSLP participants' selection and consumption of fruits and vegetables.
Analysis:
Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U and proportions tests and difference-in-difference regressions.
Results:
The NSLP participants at the treatment schools consumed, on average, 0.061 (P = .002) more servings of vegetables and 0.055 (P = .05) more servings of fruit after implementation of the FTS Program. When school-level fixed effects are included, ordinary least squares and tobit regression results indicated that NSLP participants at the treatment schools respectively consumed 0.107 (P < .001) and 0.086 (P < .001) more servings of vegetables, on average, after implementation of the FTS Program.
Conclusions And Implications:
Local procurement positively affected healthy eating.
