Using Spices and Herbs to Increase Vegetable Intake Among Urban High School Students

Using Spices and Herbs to Increase Vegetable Intake Among Urban High School Students in the National School Lunch Program

A two-phase, school-based intervention will be conducted at a high school in Baltimore to evaluate whether the addition of spices and herbs to vegetable dishes in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) can increase vegetable intake among students in an urban and predominantly African-American high school.

The proposed research will be conducted at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Baltimore, Maryland. In this two-phase intervention, the research team will work in Phase I with stakeholders throughout the high school community to identify the barriers to vegetable intake in the NSLP in this student population and to determine how spices and herbs might help overcome these barriers. The stakeholders with whom we will collaborate will include students, school administration, and cafeteria staff. Phase II will focus on the direct measurement of vegetable intake among students both before and after spices and herbs are added to the vegetables in the NSLP. The spiced vegetable recipes that received the most favorable student rankings in the taste tests of Phase I will be offered. The vegetable recipes flavored with spices and herbs will meet all NSLP requirements for fat, sugar, total calories, and all other guidelines. Student vegetable intake will be assessed through two outcomes: 1.) plate waste, and 2.) production waste.

School lunch participants will be given vegetables with and without additional spices and herbs to determine if intake will increase with the addition of spices and herbs.

Direct measurement of school lunch vegetable intake among students both before and after spices and herbs are added.

The overall time frame for the outcome measure assessment is up to 8 months. This will occur during the 2016-2017 school year.

Cafeteria production waste as measured by calculating the difference between total prepared vegetable weight and discarded vegetable weight.

This outcome involves quantifying both the amount of vegetables that were prepared and served and the amount of vegetables that were thrown away by cafeteria staff after lunch.

The overall time frame for the outcome measure assessment is up to 8 months. This will occur during the 2016-2017 school year.

Participants will complete a baseline questionnaire in the Spring of 2016 followed by a follow-up questionnaire at the end of the 2016-2017 school year. Changes in attitudes towards eating vegetables will be assessed before and after the addition of spices and herbs to the school lunch vegetables.

Inclusion Criteria: Enrolled student at Cristo Rey High School Able to read and write English (exclusive to Phase 1 participants) Exclusion Criteria: Does not eat lunch in the Cristo Rey High School cafeteria Not willing to complete questionnaires (exclusive to Phase 1 participants)

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