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An Exploratory Study Examining The National School Lunch Program; How It Functions On a Daily Basis; And How It May Be Improved

Bereza, John Matthew
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1242334507

Abstract Details

2009, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, ED Physical Activities and Educational Services.
The purpose of this study is to make transparent the current National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The first mission of this project is to clarify how the NSLP functions on a day-to-day basis in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus is used as a sample city, yet the aim of this research is to be transferable to other locations. The second objective is to gain a clearer understanding of the NSLP from the perspective of those who work in the field, and how they would like to improve the Program. This study employs qualitative inquiry through the use of individual interviews and observations to measure the participants. The approach is naturalistic, which encourages the researcher to interact with the sample in their natural environment. The perspective is that of eleven individuals working for the National School Lunch Program. Through a guided interviewing process these participants spoke of their experiences in the current nutritional model, and gave suggestions of improvement. Their stories on nutrition, hopes of better food, and equitable lunches were audio-recorded, and the data were analyzed and coded in a final report. The results from this investigation reveal that the National School Lunch Program is a spike, or a foreign object inserted into an environment, having little interaction with the community. In addition, those working in the National School Lunch Program often did not see problems with the initiative (even in the face of growing obesity, inattentive disorders, and mood issues). During the interviews it became apparent that many in the NSLP see the benefits of bringing in more local, fresher foods for the students, but they could not imagine going against the hierarchy of the NSLP. In response to the first research question, how the NSLP functions, the most frequent response was through near total control. Indeed, this faltering program, one that the USDA has hopes of making healthier, sees itself as unchangeable.
Antoinette Miranda, PhD (Advisor)
Kisha Radliff, PhD (Committee Member)
Jeff Sharp, PhD (Committee Member)
162 p.
Adult Education; Behaviorial Sciences; Developmental Psychology; Education; Educational Psychology; Food Science; Health Education; Psychology
School nutrition; national school lunch program; foods of minimal nutritional value; school lunch

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Bereza, J. M. (2009). An Exploratory Study Examining The National School Lunch Program; How It Functions On a Daily Basis; And How It May Be Improved [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1242334507

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Bereza, John. An Exploratory Study Examining The National School Lunch Program; How It Functions On a Daily Basis; And How It May Be Improved. 2009. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1242334507.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Bereza, John. "An Exploratory Study Examining The National School Lunch Program; How It Functions On a Daily Basis; And How It May Be Improved." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1242334507

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.