Search

Objectives: We examined vegetable plate waste (PW) from elementary school-aged children by district, school, and grade. Methods: In 6 elementary schools across 2 school districts (ISDs) in Texas, PW of vegetables served on the school lunch menu was weighed for all students collectively by grade. Results: Vegetable PW ranged from 17% to 90%. Potato products had the low est PW. In ISD 1, significant differences were evident in mean vegetable PW by grade, but not by elementary school. In ISD 2, significant differences were evident in mean vegetable PW by elementary school, but not by grade. Conclusions: Because vegetable PW was high, legislation and regulation may not be effective strategies to increase vegetable consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To examine if gardening experience and enjoyment are associated with vegetable exposure, preferences, and consumption of vegetables among low-income third-grade children. Design Cross-sectional study design, using baseline data from the Texas! Grow! Eat! Go! study. Setting Twenty-eight Title I elementary schools located in different counties in Texas. Participants Third-grade students (n = 1,326, 42% Hispanic) Main Outcome Measures Gardening experience, gardening enjoyment, vegetable exposure, preference, and consumption. Analysis Random-effects regression models, adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, and body mass index percentile of child, estimated means and standard errors of vegetable consumption, exposure, and preference by levels of gardening experience and enjoyment. Wald χ 2 tests evaluated the significance of differences in means of outcomes across levels of gardening experience and enjoyment. Results Children with more gardening experience had greater vegetable exposure and higher vegetable preference and consumed more vegetables compared with children who reported less gardening experience. Those who reported that they enjoyed gardening had the highest levels of vegetable exposure, preference, and consumption. Conclusions and Implications Garden-based interventions can have an important and positive effect on children's vegetable consumption by increasing exposure to fun gardening experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]