Model for Improvement - Select interventions

The advisory team members, made up of faculty and students from Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab, visited the school cafeterias in Clinton and Franklin counties and identified a menu of change options for the school lunch rooms. They asked the teams in Clinton and Franklin counties to pick two to three changes for testing in each of the school cafeterias. The Yale-Griffin Prevention Resource Center brainstormed ideas for changes with the Schenectady County team and provided survey tools that could be adapted for local use.

Interventions selected in three communities

County Team	Interventions Selected and Tested
Clinton	Identified and worked with students to name new menu items Students completed a "Tell us what you think??" survey after tasting new menu items and made recommendations Improved signage with catchy slogans E.g., 'Take an apple for later' E.g., 'Fruit free with lunch' Placed fruits in attractive bowls Placed fruits at eye level Added spinach to the salads Promoted vegetable pizza in place of pepperoni pizza and garden burger in place of the traditional burger
Franklin	Made skim milk the default choice by putting skim milk before chocolate milk, and placing chocolate milk in the back of the cooler Worked with students in the health class to taste test new menu items Offered orange sections in addition to whole fruit
Schenectady	Developed and set up an indoor physical activity track Planned and implemented exercise stations or activities for students to work on Designed and negotiated a schedule for a three-week exercise intervention for 10 minutes, two days per week with three fourth-grade classes outside the regular classroom hours during the school day Identified exercises to increase cardiovascular endurance and to develop upper and lower body strength