1. EVALUATING THE HEALTHIER US
SCHOOL CHALLENGE IN ILLINOIS
A Research Proposal by Maddie
Martini

2. OVERVIEW
• The National School Lunch Program feeds more than 31 million children
daily (U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service,
2013a)
• After the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was signed into law,
the USDA worked with Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign to
create a program to promote nutritious food choices and physical
activity in schools
 The HealthierUS School Challenge
• The HealthierUS School Challenge recognizes schools making changes
to improve the school food environment and facilitate physical activity
• No study has yet been done to compare schools participating and not
participating in the HealthierUS School Challenge

3. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
• To evaluate the characteristics
of schools that successfully
participate in the HealthierUS
School Challenge
• To determine which factors
within a school system, if any,
can predict a school’s ability
to facilitate change in the
school food environment

4. MINI-REVIEW OF LITERATURE
• Rates of childhood overweight and obesity in the U.S.
rank among the highest of developed countries around the
world (Ogden, Carroll, Kit & Flegal, 2014; Wang &
Lobstein, 2006)
• 2013: Implementation of the CNRA 2004 (prioritizing
high-nutrient, non-energy dense foods/drinks) was most
effective in schools with the highest enrollment of students
participating in FRP; rural schools less likely to have
healthy eating strategies and more likely to allow ads of
candy, fast food, and soft drinks (Nanney, Davey, & Kubik,
2013)

5. MINI-REVIEW OF LITERATURE
• 2012: Implementation of the CNRA 2004 was more likely
in public vs. private schools, including having fresh fruit at
lunch, non-commercial food sources, a health advisory
council, and a food nutrition professional on staff (Turner &
Chaloupka, 2012)
• 2012: School Foodservice Directors with credentials are
more likely to implement food policies and practices than
those without credentials; the most common perceived
barrier to implementation of food policies was lack of
funds (Mincher, Symons, & Thompson, 2012)

6. METHOD
• Sample: School Foodservice Directors
• Employed by public elementary and middle schools in the state of Illinois
• Schools with HealthierUS School Challenge awards will be determined by
the list on the USDA website and by self-declaration
• Distribution: Total Design Method
• Three-wave mailing guidelines (Hoddinott & Bass, 1986)
1. Initial Mailing
2. 1-week follow-up with reminder
3. 3-week follow-up with replacement survey
4. 7-week follow-up with replacement survey
• Analysis: QSR Nvivo Software, which is best for qualitative data

7. INSTRUMENT
• Self-created survey, including questions about:
•Income level of families in the school district
•Percentage of minority students
•Location of school (urban, rural, suburbs)
•Previous implementation of other nutrition- or health-related initiatives
•Presence of multidisciplinary wellness committee in the school district
•Use of food-based rewards in classrooms
•The education/credential level of foodservice directors
•Modeled after survey by Bridging the Gap, which surveys schools
about topics relevant to childhood obesity

8. QUESTIONS?

9. REFERENCES
Hoddinott, S. N. & Bass, M. J. (1986). The Dillman total design survey method. Canadian Family
Physician, 32, 2366-2368. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2328022/
Mincher, J. L., Symons, C. W., & Thompson, A. (2012). A comparison of food policy and practice
reporting between credentialed and noncredentialed Ohio school foodservice directors. Journal of
the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 112(12), 2035-2041. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2012.06.366
Nanney, M. S., Davey, C. S., & Kubik, M. Y. (2013). Rural disparities in the distribution of policies
that support healthy eating in US secondary schools. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and
Dietetics, 113, 1062-1068. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2013.04.021
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2014). Prevalence of childhood and adult
obesity in the United States, 2011-2012. Journal of the American Medical Association, 311(8), 806-
814.
Turner, L., & Chaloupka, F. J. (2012). Slow progress in changing the school food environment:
Nationally representative results from public and private elementary schools. Journal of the
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 112(9), 1380-1389. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2012.04.017
U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (2013b). National School Lunch Program
fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/NSLPFactSheet.pdf
Wang, Y., & Lobstein, T. (2006). Worldwide trends in childhood overweight and obesity.
International Journal of Pediatric Obesity, 1(1), 11-25.