Premium
Cafeteria Managers' Perceptions and Promotion of School Salad Bars
Author(s) -
Skelton Kara,
Bruening Meg,
Adams Marc,
OhriVachaspati Punam,
Hurley Jane,
Simpson Julie
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.903.21
Subject(s) - cafeteria , respondent , promotion (chess) , logistic regression , perception , psychology , medicine , advertising , health promotion , environmental health , business , nursing , political science , public health , pathology , neuroscience , politics , law
Objective To examine cafeteria managers' perceptions of and promotion of salad bars. School salad bars are encouraged by USDA as one of the most effective means to meet the new school meal guidelines. However, little is known about prevalence and implementation of school salad bar promotion strategies. Methods Cafeteria Managers (n=653; 72% response rate) completed a 71‐item web‐based cross‐sectional survey on correlates of salad bars during 2014. Several multivariable logistic regression models examined the association between nutrition managers' personal perceptions of salad bars (positive vs. negative) and promotional efforts (7 types) related to salad bars, adjusting for school grade level and number of years respondent spent in current position. Only schools with salad bars were included in the analysis (n=310). Results The majority of cafeteria managers viewed salad bars positively (58.2%). There was wide variability in salad bar promotion type, with self‐reported prevalence in sampled schools ranging from 1.9‐33.2%. Positive perceptions of salad bars were related to use of: posters (OR=2.7; p‐value<0.001), morning announcements/promotions (OR=2.04; p‐value=0.025), classroom education (OR=2.8; p‐value=0.004), fruit/vegetable of the day (OR=1.97; p‐value=0.031) and matched salad bar to entrée items (OR=2.42; p‐value=0.001). No significant associations were observed between perceptions of salad bars and changing tray color or school website promotions. Conclusions School nutrition managers' perceptions appear important for promoting salad bar use. Future research should examine ways to improve cafeteria staff's perceptions of salad bars. More research is needed on how salad bar promotion impacts consumption of healthy items.