Exploring Australian parent preferences for a school-provided meal offering using a discrete choice experiment

Area of Science:

• Public Health Nutrition
• Consumer Behavior
• Educational Policy

Background:

• Growing interest in school-provided meal programs in Australia.
• Need to understand parent/caregiver preferences as key stakeholders.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate Australian parent interest and preferences for school-provided meals.
• Identify key attributes influencing choices in school lunch offerings.

Main Methods:

• Online survey with a discrete choice experiment (DCE) administered to Australian parents.
• DCE involved 12 choice tasks evaluating hypothetical lunch options based on cost, nutrition, sustainability, access, menu, and school approach.
• Data analyzed using multinomial logit models and Krinsky and Robb method for willingness to pay.

Main Results:

• High parent interest (93%) in school-provided meals.
• Nutrition and quality were the most significant factors influencing choice (β=0.71), followed by menu options (β=0.47), environmental sustainability (β=0.35), and whole-school approach (β=0.28).
• Parents preferred lower-cost options and demonstrated willingness to pay for desirable attributes.

Conclusions:

• Australian parents support well-designed school-provided lunches aligned with their preferences.
• Parental preferences for nutrition, quality, menu variety, sustainability, and cost are crucial for system design.
• Incorporating parental input is essential for creating acceptable and financially equitable school meal systems.