TACOS: Trying Alternative Cafeteria Options in Schools

Principal Investigators
Simone French, PhD, University of Minnesota

Funding
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Center for Disease Control

Objective
A randomized school-based study that evaluated an environmental intervention to increase sales of lower fat foods in secondary school cafeterias.

Methods
The study, involving 20 schools in the Twin Cities metropolitan area during Winter Twenty secondary schools were randomized to an intervention or control group for a two-year period. The intervention increased the availability of lower fat foods in the school cafeteria a la carte areas and implemented student-based promotions targeting the lower fat foods. Cafeteria food sales data were collected continually.

Results
Intervention schools showed a marginally significantly higher mean percent sales of lower fat foods in year one (27.5% vs. 19.6%, p = .10) and a significantly higher percent sales of lower fat foods in year two (33.6% vs. 22.1%, p = .04). A steeper rate of increase in sales of lower fat foods was observed in intervention schools in year one (+10% vs. –2.8% in control schools, p = .002), but not in year two.

Conclusion
School-based environmental interventions that increase the availability and promotion of lower fat foods can increase purchase of these foods among adolescents.

Materials
TACOS operation manuals and forms are not available at this time.

Publications
SA French, M Story, J Fulkerson, P Hannan. An environmental intervention to promote lower fat food choices in secondary schools: Outcomes of the TACOS study. Submitted.