Objective: To test whether Yumbox, a bento-style lunchbox with compartments labeled for the 5 meal components of USDA's MyPlate, has an effect on foods that caregivers packed for preschoolers' lunches. Use of Theory: Yumbox provides distinct compartments for recommended food components of USDA MyPlate, leveraging visibility principals of behavioral economics theory. Caregivers may be more likely to pack lunches that include more components of MyPlate due to visual cues present in Yumbox. Target Audience: Caregivers of preschoolers Program Description: Yumboxes were given to each child in a preschool ("Intervention School") (n = 30). Caregivers received a brief orientation on using Yumbox, as well as a list of suggestions for foods for each section. A similar preschool was selected for comparison of the content of students' lunches ("Control School"; n = 26). Contents of the students' lunches in both preschools were documented over a 3-day period by photographing lunches in both schools (N = 110 lunches). Photos were then analyzed to identify if a meal component was present or absent in the students' lunches. Evaluation Methods: All data were entered into SPSS for analysis. Descriptive statistics of food present for each component (vegetable, fruit, dairy, grain, protein), for both the Intervention and Control Schools were conducted. Chi-square analyses were also conducted to assess significant group differences in the presence of each food component. A comparison of the mean number of food components present on each student's trays were used to assess impact of the intervention. Results: This study found that the intervention group had had statistically significantly higher number of components (3.78 § 0.95) compared to the control group (1.89 § 0.93) t = -10.56; P < 0.0001. Chi-square tests found significant differences across all days for fruit, protein, and dairy, and significant differences on the first 2 days for vegetables. Conclusion:This study provides evidence that Yumbox may have a positive influence on the types of foods caregivers pack for children's lunches.

This study aimed to assess change in school-based food waste after training and implementing the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement (SLM) strategies with school food service workers. This non-controlled trial was implemented in a random sample of 15 elementary and middle schools in a Community Eligibility Program school district in the Northeast, the United States. Baseline and post-intervention food waste measurements were collected at two different time points in each school (n = 9258 total trays measured). Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and regression analyses were used to assess SLM strategies’ impact on changes in percent food waste. The mean number of strategies schools implemented consistently was 7.40 ± 6.97 SD, with a range of 0 to 28 consistent strategies. Independent t-tests revealed that at post-test, there was a significant (p < 0.001) percent reduction (7.0%) in total student food waste and for each food component: fruit (13.6%), vegetable (7.1%), and milk (4.3%). Overall, a training session on food waste and the SLM strategies with school-based food service workers reduced school food waste. However, the extent of the training and SLM strategies to reduce food waste varied on the basis of the consistency and type of strategies implemented.

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