Comparing Diet Quality of School Meals versus Food Brought from Home

Abstract

Purpose: Consuming nutritious food is essential to learning. The purpose of this research was to determine the diet quality of elementary school lunches, both those in meal programs and those bringing food from home, in urban and rural locations in Saskatchewan. Methods: Using a School Food Checklist and digital photography we compared food group servings and diet quality in 3 school types: urban schools with a meal program and urban and rural schools without a meal program. The total sample was 773 students. Results: Only 55% of students brought the minimum number of servings for grain products and meat and alternatives, with fewer bringing the minimum for vegetables and fruit (25.6%–34.9%), whole grains (24.1%), and milk and alternatives (14.1%). Students bringing food from home had significantly more calories in their lunches from minimally nutritious foods. Students in meal programs had the highest diet quality scores using the Healthy Eating Index adapted for school hours. Conclusions: The diet quality of elementary students’ lunches needs improvement, although students in meal programs have healthier diets. Interventions targeting what children eat at school should focus on increasing the number of students meeting recommendations for healthy foods while decreasing minimally nutritious foods brought to school.