Exploring Adolescents' Perceptions of the School Food Environment to Inform a Fruit-Based Program.

Area of Science:

• School nutrition
• Adolescent health
• Food environment research

Background:

• School food environments significantly impact adolescent dietary intake.
• Understanding student perceptions is crucial for effective nutrition interventions.
• Previous research often overlooks student voices in school food program development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate rural adolescents' views on their school food environment.
• To identify preferred strategies for promoting fruit consumption among students.
• To compare student perceptions with nutrition directors' self-reported practices.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods approach was employed across 8 rural schools.
• Data collection included adolescent focus groups (n=41), a student voting activity (n=432), and nutrition director environmental checklists (n=8).
• Qualitative thematic analysis and descriptive quantitative analysis were utilized.

Main Results:

• Over half of students reported barriers to fruit consumption, including unappetizing options and concerns about freshness/cleanliness.
• Nutrition directors reported implementing supportive fruit promotion practices.
• A smoothie bar was the most favored promotion strategy (86%), followed by taste tests (10%) and murals (4%).

Conclusions:

• Significant discrepancies exist between student experiences and reported practices, underscoring the need for student input.
• Findings support the development of student-centered, fruit-focused programs in rural school settings.
• Incorporating student perspectives is essential for designing relevant and effective school nutrition initiatives.