National Food Service Management Institute Research Summary

Please note that this study was published before the implementation of Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which went into effect during the 2012-13 school year, and its provision for Smart Snacks Nutrition Standards for Competitive Food in Schools, implemented during the 2014-15 school year. As such, certain research may not be relevant today.

Child Care Research

Procurement Practices Influencing Programs Operating Within the Guidelines of the Child and Adult Care Food Program: A Review of Literature

Researchers initiated a research effort to review existing literature on research efforts related to the procurement practices of sponsors of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The CACFP, a food assistance program, subsidizes meals and snacks in approved day care programs. The CACFP plays a vital role in assuring quality nutritional services in the participating programs and creates an affordable day care service for many low-income families. The review process identified a limited number of research publications that address issues influencing procurement practices in the CACFP. The primary focus of the publications reviewed was regulatory in nature. During the review, the researcher categorized current procurement practices influencing programs operating within the guidelines of the CACFP, such as food labels, food safety, and vendor relationships. The full report is available online

at http://www.nfsmi.org/Information/Research.html.

Program Operations Research

First Choice Purchasing System Workshop Evaluation

In an evaluation of the First Choice Procurement Workshop, researchers sought information regarding the reaction to training, change in behavior as a result of knowledge gained, business results from implementation of knowledge gained. Results of the reaction phase of the evaluation showed that participants were very satisfied with the overall workshop. Of participants evaluating workshops, 97% rated the overall workshop and program materials as either “excellent” or “above average.”

To ascertain change in behavior and business results from implementation of knowledge gained, surveys were mailed to 87 workshop participants; 31 (38%) were returned. Survey results indicate that, as a result of attending the First Choice Procurement Workshop, 25 participants made changes in their operation, while six made no changes. Of the 25 making changes, the ones made most frequently was “having more open discussion with vendors,” followed by “developing more complete purchasing specifications.” The majority of participants also reported that food cost, plate cost, inventory cost, and time spent on purchasing either deceased or stayed the same. The full report is available online athttp://www.nfsmi.org/Information/Research.html.

HACCP Implementation in K-12 Schools

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent, challenges, and benefits of HACCP implementation in K-12 schools. Findings from this study can be used by training professionals to assist in developing HACCP and other food safety training materials to determine how they can best be presented to school foodservice staff. The study was designed to determine the extent of HACCP implementation in schools; characteristics of the implementation process, such as why HACCP was implemented, source of training, length of time needed to implement, and status of implementation; benefits of HACCP implementation; and challenges associated with HACCP implementation.

Researchers studied current HACCP implementation in schools in the United States, a printed survey was administered by mail to 2,200 school foodservice managers. The survey included questions about the school’s implementation of HACCP, as well as questions about school foodservice manager demographics. Researchers surveyed 2% to 3% of foodservice managers in each U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) region and obtained a overall response rate of approximately 18%. Although this rate was relatively low, comparison of responses by date received, as well as comparison with non-respondents through phone interviews, suggested that survey responses were not likely to have been substantially different if the response rate had been higher.

An important finding of this study was that more than half of the responding schools had begun implementing HACCP. Major city school districts had a significantly higher percentage of HACCP implementation than other types of school districts. The full report is available online at http://www.nfsmi.org/Information/Research.html.

Impact of the Nutrition Environment on Food Consumption and BMI of Sixth- and Eighth Grade Middle School Students

A three-day food diary was used to gather food intake information from Sixth- and Eighth Grade students in four schools. Data to calculate BMI percentiles also were gathered from participating students. School menus, a list of snacks and beverages sold in vending machines and school stores, and school demographics were gathered from each school to create a school nutrition environment profile. Results showed that students were consuming more than 30% of the total number of food servings at school. The proportion of daily intake–which averaged 36% for bread, 38% for milk, 34% for meat, 49% for fruit, 41% for vegetables, and 23% of servings from the fats/sweets group–were consumed at school. The full report is available online at http://www.nfsmi.org/Information/Research.html.

Unpublished Dissertations and Theses in Child Nutrition Programs and State Agency Funded Research, 2002-04: Annotated Bibliography

This publication review is a result of research conducted by graduate students fulfilling program requirements for their graduate degrees. The listing of theses and dissertations written after 2002 was compiled based on submissions from college and university faculty and a search in dissertation abstracts. The documents are grouped into 15 content categories. Within each category, citations are listed in chronological order with the most recent year first. Copies of theses and dissertations can be ordered through the inter-library loan service at most colleges and universities. The full report is available online at http://www.nfsmi.org/Information/Research.html.

Financial Management Research

 Updating the National Food Service Management Institute’s Financial Management Information System Model

The purpose of this research and development project is to update the Financial Management Information System Model (FMIS) to reflect current financial management practices and trends in school foodservice programs. This two-phase process involves an assessment of the model by a national task force of school meal experts and modification of the FMIS model, generating an 87-page document to support training financial management to school nutrition professionals.

The full report is available through NFSMI. The NFSMI FMIS document is available online at http://www.nfsmi.org/Information/Research.html.