Full Article
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.
It’s time to celebrate 30 years of The Journal of Child Nutrition and Management! The School Nutrition Association has recognized the important role of research in child nutrition programs and has supported this Journal since 1977 when the first issue of School Foodservice Research Review was published. Dr. Allene G. Vaden was the first editor and the Journalhas had capable and dedicated editors over the years to continue the excellence of the Journal. Dr. Jeannie Sneed has been the editor for the last ten years and she provided leadership for the Journal’s transition from print to fully electronic format. Thank you to Dr. Sneed for her dedication and service to the Journal.
This issue of The Journal of Child Nutrition and Management addresses many important issues in child nutrition programs. Commodity foods support agricultural producers and provide food to school children. Jirka and Sneed have reviewed the history of the commodity program and provided their recommendations for improvement and future research.
Namasivayam and colleagues investigated the effect of leadership, job involvement, and work pressure on school foodservice directors’ readiness to implement wellness policies and found that leadership support does affect individuals’ support of changes. Lambert and colleagues examined the perceived advantages, disadvantages, and barriers to participation in the School Breakfast Program in elementary schools. They found that school nutrition directors and teachers identified a positive eating environment and social interactions as the primary advantages.
Barriers to participation were time issues/conflicting events and lack of school staff support.
Oakley and colleagues developed and validated a self-assessment instrument for child care providers in centers and homes participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The CACFP providers can use these instruments to compare their practices to industry best practices to continuously improve nutrition services available to young children.
Murimi and colleagues found that seventh grade teachers identified healthy food choices as the most important nutrition education topic. They recommended development of a standardized nutrition curriculum that would be available to teachers expected to teach nutrition and health.
Food preferences of 3rd through 12th grade children were identified by Caine-Bish and Scheule. They surveyed 1,818 children in an Ohio district and found differences among elementary, middle, and high school students. The top twenty foods included chocolate milk, strawberries, watermelon, submarine sandwiches, white milk, grapes, yogurt, and string cheese.
This issue also includes the abstracts from the 2007 Child Nutrition Showcase and a list of reviewers who volunteered their time and expertise to provide thoughtful feedback on manuscripts to authors and the editor. Finally, Carr provides a summary of the research being conducted at the National Food Service Management Institute.
I would like to acknowledge the assistance of Kyunghee Choi, MS, RD, copy editor, and Amber King, graduate assistant, both from Eastern Michigan University. They have been working hard behind the scenes to ensure the continued success of the Journal. The Director of the EMU School of Health Sciences, Dr. Elizabeth Francis, has been supportive of my new role as editor. I look forward to your feedback on the Journal.
Alice Jo Rainville, PhD, RD, CHE, SNS
Editor