STRIDE Researchers Find Cafeteria Layout Affects Veggie and Fruit Consumption

Adding creative signage and changing the way food is displayed resulted in students at two Paso Robles elementary schools eating more fruits and veggies, STRIDE staff learned after conducting research at the two campus cafeterias. The research project is part of a United States Department of Agriculture grant subcontracted through the County of San Luis Obispo Public Health Department. 

Nutrition graduate student Polina Zhuzhina examined how food display and layout affect younger students’ food choices and consumption at Bauer Speck and Winifred Pifer elementary schools. Zhuzhina utilized strategies from the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement, which offers low to no cost interventions or changes in school cafeterias to promote healthier food choices. Smarter Lunchrooms data is mostly collected at middle and high schools.  

 “The interventions are low-cost or no-cost, so it is something that is really easy to implement,” said STRIDE research assistant and nutrition undergraduate Amy Bruter. “Public schools are limited in their resources, so Smarter Lunchrooms makes these changes more accessible.”

Fruit and vegetable choice increased at Bauer Speck but not at Winifred Pifer. The proportion of students who consumed and ate all their fruits and vegetables increased at both schools, and the proportion of students who did not eat their vegetables decreased at Winifred Pifer. 

“This research is important because it is easier to prevent obesity if you have healthy eating habits early on in life,” Zhuzhina said.

Zhuzhina, who conducted the research as part of her master’s thesis, altered the cafeteria environment at each school with the help of Charmaine Martinez, a Cal Poly art and design professor. Together, they designed new signage for food with creative names such as X-ray Vision Carrots and Tree Tromping Broccoli. The research team put fruits in more decorative bowls and created super-hero themes for the healthier food. 

“We also hid competitive food,” Zhuzhina said. “For example, we moved the ice cream so that it was available but not in sight.”

Zhuzhina collected data before and after the Smarter Lunchrooms interventions were in place by taking pictures of students’ trays as they left lunch lines and before they threw away their leftovers.