Executive Summary: Improving School Food Environments Through District-Level Policies: Findings from Six California Case Studies

Publication Date: April 2006

Publisher: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Author(s):

Research Area: Health

Type: Report

Abstract:

RWJF funded a series of case studies that offer valuable insight into what school districts are doing to enact system-wide nutrition policies, policies that provide young people with healthy, nutritious and appealing alternatives to the ubiquitous junk food diet. This report documents the experience of six California school districts as they developed and implemented policies aimed at reducing the availability of unhealthy foods on campus.

Six unified school districts participated in the case studies: San Francisco, Capistrano, Eureka City, Hemet, Los Angeles and Oakland. The studies, conducted in 2004, required analysis of the individual policies adopted, site visits to 23 high schools and middle schools to assess their food and beverage environments, and surveys of all involved in the process.

The school districts included in these case studies were highly motivated to improve their food and beverage environments, as is evident in their efforts to pass a district-wide policy. But while there have been many successes, significant challenges remain. Overall, these results offer new insights into the various strategies schools have pursued to restrict sales of unhealthy foods and how the experience can inform future efforts elsewhere.