Think about the long-term impact of your taste tests — and focus on foods you can add to your regular cafeteria offerings
Students in the Action for Healthy Kids pilot program were frustrated when foods they had sampled and liked were not available on a regular basis in the school cafeteria. If your goal is simply to introduce new foods from the Food Groups to Encourage, then a one-time sampling of a new food can be effective — but do make sure students know this is a special treat.
However, if your goal is to help students eat better and improve their eating habits, you need to plan for long-term success. Students enjoy delicious, healthy food — and if your taste tests are a hit, they’ll want the new foods to be available on your breakfast and lunch lines or through your à la carte service. Before you decide to sample a new food, make sure you can offer it to your students as part of your reimbursable meals or, if your school has a number of students who do not receive free or reduced meals, make sure you can offer the new food at a reasonable cost.
Food for thought:
In any school setting, elimination of non-healthy choices will increase the likelihood that students will select the new healthier items being offered. Work closely with school nutrition professionals to think creatively about how you can make new foods part of your regular cafeteria operation. Explore community partnership options, such as your local Farm to School program or partnerships with local companies; or take advantage of government initiatives, such as the USDA's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP). If your school is part of a purchasing cooperative, work with other schools to target new, healthier food items: if you increase the amount of food being purchased, you may be able to negotiate a lower price, thus making it more feasible for you to offer the healthier food on a regular basis.
If your school provides a number of free or reduced-price meals, consider the availability of commodity food ingredients that could help make the new item financially feasible. If your school has a larger percentage of students who purchase their meals, sell the new healthier food item so that it is competitive with existing food choices. For example, you could set a lower introductory price for the new item, or you might provide the new item through à la carte offerings.
Get Student Input
Let students vote up or down on the item being taste tested. Provide green (up) and red (down) paper squares students can place in a bag to indicate their decision on the sample. After the taste test, tally the votes and share the results. In addition, you might want to have students complete “tasting surveys ,” particularly at the end of a series of taste tests. If you ask them, students will likely give you helpful feedback about what they liked and didn’t like. This information can be invaluable as you shape school foodservice policies. And remember: it’s important that student feedback, if asked for, is taken and acted upon with any changes made as a result subsequently shared with students. This will indicate to students that their feedback is worthwhile and may make them more willing to participate in school meals and/or purchase items in the cafeteria.
Let teachers taste test, too!
Invite faculty and staff to a “preview taste test” featuring the foods students will be trying. Host your faculty event in the teachers’ lounge or other teacher-friendly locations, and allow staff to sample the foods and see the hand-outs you will share with students. Let faculty and staff know how the taste test supports your school’s wellness policy and practices — and enlist their aid. Ask them to reinforce the importance of eating better and to encourage students to participate in the taste test.
Provide multiple opportunities to explore a variety of foods in each group
At a minimum, you’ll want to give students the opportunity to sample at least once each of the foods the Dietary Guidelines for Americans has identified as a Food Group to Encourage (whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat/fat-free milk products). Ideally, you’ll give them a number of chances to try lots of different foods. Students enjoy taste tests — and the Action for Healthy Kids pilot program showed that they want to try more new foods more often. To learn how to make better food choices and to develop healthy eating habits, students need to hear healthy food messages and be exposed to healthy food options repeatedly.
Serve good-sized samples — and make sure you have plenty to go around
Students report that they don’t like small samples. Three ounces of a new beverage will be a bigger hit than just one ounce of the drink, while a quarter of a sandwich will give students a better chance to get a sense of the food than just one bite. Students say they’re especially frustrated if they wait in line only to discover that there are no samples left.
In short, try to have plenty of the new exciting food on hand! (See above for suggestions on how to access healthy foods through community partnerships and commodity programs — especially in districts where a high percentage of students receive free or reduced-price meals.)
Caution: Make sure that anyone involved with preparing and serving food at your taste tests complies with your district’s HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) Food Safety Plan. Your school nutrition professionals will be trained to handle food — but you need to take special care to ensure that college students, parent volunteers, teacher aids and others meet safety standards. The National Coalition for Food-Safe School has information and resources to help train volunteers on using kitchen or cafeteria facilities.