Table 4.
Characteristics of school food environments, by racial/ethnic composition.
| Majority White (n = 643) |
Majority Black (n = 89) |
Majority Hispanic (n = 156) |
Diverse (n = 310) |
p-Value | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | 95% CI | % | 95% CI | % | 95% CI | % | 95% CI | ||
| Presence and Sources of Competitive Foods | |||||||||
| Offers competitive foods | 85.5 | (81.6, 89.5) | 67.6 | (52.2, 83.0) | 77.3 | (67.4, 87.1) | 90.0 | (85.5, 94.6) | <0.01 * |
| Sells foods other than milk on an a la carte basis | 75.3 | (70.5, 80.1) | 67.1 | (52.3, 81.9) | 60.2 | (48.8, 71.6) | 74.7 | (67.1, 82.3) | 0.07 |
| Sells foods in a vending machine | 33.9 | (29.7, 38.0) | 21.4 | (9.9, 32.9) | 14.2 | (9.0, 19.4) | 32.2 | (25.4, 39.1) | <0.01 * |
| Sells foods in a school store, snack bar, food cart, kiosk, or fund-raiser | 14.3 | (10.4, 18.3) | 19.8 | (3.3, 36.2) | 18.8 | (9.5, 28.0) | 15.6 | (10.0, 21.3) | 0.73 |
| School Food Policies and Programs | |||||||||
| Operates a school garden | 7.6 | (4.7, 10.5) | 5.1 | (0.0, 11.0) | 10.3 | (3.1, 17.6) | 6.6 | (2.9, 10.4) | 0.67 |
| Participates in FFVP a | 19.6 | (15.2, 23.9) | 26.7 | (13.2, 40.1) | 21.7 | (10.9, 32.4) | 12.6 | (6.8, 18.4) | 0.17 |
| Participates in Farm to School | 17.2 | (11.8, 22.5) | 21.3 | (9.3, 33.3) | 14.2 | (4.8, 23.6) | 16.1 | (9.6, 22.6) | 0.81 |
| SFA offers branded foods | 7.7 | (4.4, 10.9) | 3.4 | (0.0, 7.7) | 9.9 | (2.4, 17.5) | 12.5 | (6.6, 18.5) | 0.18 |
| SFA has pouring rights contract | 30.2 | (23.4, 37.1) | 23.4 | (11.1, 35.7) | 11.4 | (2.7, 20.1) | 22.3 | (14.5, 30.2) | 0.02 * |
| Has a school wellness policy in addition to SFA wellness policy | 16.6 | (12.7, 20.4) | 31.7 | (17.5, 45.9) | 25.4 | (14.9, 35.9) | 14.8 | (9.2, 20.4) | 0.02 * |
| SFA fully implemented Smart Snacks in School standards | 59.6 | (52.0, 66.8) | 58.3 | (40.4, 74.3) | 53.2 | (40.5, 65.5) | 64.8 | (55.2, 73.3) | 0.57 |
| SFA has standards that exceed Smart Snacks in School standards | 29.8 | (23.6, 36.8) | 29.3 | (16.3, 46.9) | 32.9 | (22.4, 45.5) | 29.4 | (21.4, 38.8) | 0.97 |
| Nutrition Promotion and Outreach | |||||||||
| Shared information about school meal program with nutrition advisory council | 35.2 | (29.5, 40.9) | 52.2 | (38.7, 65.6) | 43.9 | (31.7, 56.1) | 39.5 | (30.7, 48.2) | 0.12 |
| Conducted a nutrition education activity in the classroom or food service area | 49.1 | (42.6, 55.5) | 54.9 | (40.8, 68.9) | 50.4 | (38.6, 62.3) | 54.2 | (45.5, 62.8) | 0.75 |
| Encouraged students to select fruit | 90.3 | (87.1, 93.5) | 87.2 | (76.6, 97.9) | 96.3 | (93.4, 99.3) | 84.4 | (78.0, 90.8) | 0.05 |
| Involved students in planning of menus | 43.0 | (36.7, 49.3) | 42.0 | (28.1, 56.0) | 37.5 | (25.8, 49.2) | 41.2 | (32.8, 49.6) | 0.87 |
| Sought student input into vegetable offerings | 50.1 | (44.1, 56.2) | 49.1 | (34.7, 63.5) | 48.1 | (36.3, 59.9) | 47.0 | (38.7, 55.3) | 0.94 |
* p < 0.05. a Only elementary schools can participate in the FFVP. Middle and high schools are included in the analysis and are treated as if they do not offer the FFVP. CI, confidence interval; SFA, school food authority; FFVP, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.