Table 1.

Description of the six food system environment domains, the School Food Environment Assessment Tools (SFEAT) indicator questions used to guide the scoring process and the interpretation of each score across the six domains

SFEAT indicator questions used to inform scoring of each domain	Score	Interpretation of quantitative score
Food gardens	0	No garden available and no food grown at school
∙Is a school garden in existence?	1	School has just started growing some food or the existing garden is not well maintained
∙What year was it established (i.e. is it a new garden)?	2	Garden is up and running well, but is not used regularly for multiple activities
∙Which of the following school activities utilize the garden: (i) teaching about food preparation; (ii) teaching about healthy eating; (iii) teaching about gardening skills; (iv) teaching about science or other subjects; (v) using food grown for student consumption, donation to community organizations, food fundraisers, etc.; (vi) other purposes?	3	Garden is used regularly for several different activities
	4	Garden is well developed and is a significant part of the school community
Composting systems	0	No composting programme or system available at school
∙Is a composting programme/system in existence?	1	School has just started a composting programme or has a programme that is rarely used
∙What year was it established (i.e. is it a new system)?	2	Composting programme is up and running, but is not widely available or used throughout the school
∙Which of the following types of food waste are composted: (i) waste from the kitchen; (ii) waste from cooking classes; (iii) waste from students’ meals or snacks in lunch room; (iv) waste from students’ meals or snacks in the classroom(s); (v) waste from meals or snacks in staff room(s); (vi) school garden or yard waste?	3	Composting programme is widely available and used throughout the school
∙Where does finished compost end up (e.g. school garden or grounds, fundraisers, donated)?	4	Composting programme is well developed and is a significant part of the school community
Food preparation activities	0	No food preparation activities available at school
∙Are any school facilities or kitchens used for student food skill education or clubs/after-school programmes that prepare food or work on cooking skills?	1	Occasional (‘one-off’) food preparation activities are available for some students
∙How are the school facilities or kitchens used? By whom and how often?	2	Regular food preparation activities are integrated into the curriculum or after-school activities for some grades, but are not available widely or used by most students
∙Are school gardens used to teach about food preparation? If so, how well utilized are they?	3	Food preparation activities are well integrated into school courses and activities; most students have opportunities to prepare food in multiple contexts
∙Other than home economics, are there courses that teach about food preparation? Which ones?	4	Food preparation activities are highly integrated; using healthy, local products, culturally diverse, supported by parent advisory councils, use products grown at school or with community partners
Food-related teaching and learning activities	0	No food or sustainable food systems-related activities used for teaching
∙In which ways does the school integrate food and nutrition in the classroom (e.g. arts education, health education)?	1	Some food or sustainable food systems activities initiated, but infrequently
∙Are any school facilities or kitchens used for student education about food preparation or cooking? How are facilities used? By whom and how often?	2	Food or sustainable food systems topics and activities are incorporated in multiple grades and classes, 50 % or fewer grades are exposed
∙Are school gardens used for teaching and learning activities? By whom and how often are they used for these purposes?	3	Integration of teaching and learning within food programmes, gardens, etc. is well developed; more than 50 % of grades exposed
∙Are any school facilities used for teaching about food preparation or managing food/composting?	4	Well-developed integration of entire food cycle into teaching and learning activities for all classes and grades
∙In what ways is food integrated into the school curricula or teaching activities (e.g. science, physical education)?
Availability of healthy food	0	Foods provided or sold offer almost no healthy options and are almost always unhealthy foods
∙Which food programmes are available (e.g. BC Fruit and Vegetable Program, Milk Program, Farm to School, breakfast programmes, lunch programmes, food fundraisers, special food days)?	1	School tries to make some healthy options available and tries to limit unhealthy foods
∙How frequently are food fundraisers or special food days held? When they are held, what type of food is offered (e.g. hot dog, pizza, sushi)?	2	Healthy options are frequently, but not always available and unhealthy foods are rarely available
∙Has the school recently increased the sale/availability of healthier items (e.g. fresh fruit, vegetables, dark green/orange vegetables, low-fat dairy, whole grains)?	3	Healthy options are always available and unhealthy foods are rarely available
∙Has the school recently stopped the sale/availability of less healthy items (e.g. deep-fried foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, foods prohibited by school nutrition guidelines)?	4	Providing healthy foods is fully supported and implemented by the school community
∙Have events that encourage healthy food choices been held? What ones?
∙Are healthy food items available (e.g. fruits, vegetables, lower-fat milk options, whole grains)? If yes, how often?
∙Are unhealthy food items available (e.g. deep-fried items, sugar-sweetened beverages)? If yes, how often?
∙Are foods/beverages sold in vending machines, school stores and fundraisers in compliance with school nutrition guidelines?
Availability of environmentally sustainable food	0	Foods provided or sold offer almost no environmentally sustainable options
∙How often are the following foods available: minimally processed, locally grown/sourced, organic, seasonal or vegetarian options?	1	School tries to make some environmentally sustainable options available
∙Do food purchasing policies support environmentally sustainable choices (e.g. minimally processed, locally sourced options, less packaging materials, reduced use of single serve packages, condiments in bulk, reusable dishware)?	2	Environmentally sustainable options are regularly available
∙Have environmentally sustainable activities/programmes been held (e.g. waste free lunches, sustainability fairs)? Which ones and how often?	3	Environmentally sustainable options are always available
∙How important is environmental sustainability when making school meal planning or purchasing decisions?	4	Ensuring availability of environmentally sustainable food is fully supported and implemented by the school community