The survey of 354 middle school students in the Edison School District provided valuable data that could be used to improve the district's Breakfast in the Classroom program. Key findings included that the majority of students ate breakfast at least 5 days a week but only 39% participated in the school breakfast program. The top reasons for non-participation were not liking the menu and not having enough time to eat. Participating students also cited these issues. Food preferences suggested adding hot breakfast options, more cereal varieties, and chocolate milk. Most students felt special promotional events could boost participation. The results support modifying menus and increasing promotion to potentially raise the daily participation rate.

1. Elizabeth M. Madison
Competencies
DI 1.1 Select appropriate indicators and measure achievement of clinical, programmatic, quality,
productivity, economic or other outcomes
DI 1.5 Conduct research projects using appropriate research methods, ethical procedures and statistical
analysis
Project Description - Conduct a cafeteria based research project on an agreed upon thesis statement on
a topic of interest to you and the food service director in the areas of marketing, operations, nutrition
education and promotion or sustainability.
Research Question
Would a survey completed by students provide information that could be used to improve the Edison
School District Breakfast in the Classroom program in order to increase the daily participation rate?
Hypothesis
My hypothesis is that a survey would provide data that could be used to increase the average daily
participation rate of the breakfast program.
There is a substantial body of evidence-based research about successful breakfast program models.
Studies conducted by the National Dairy Council and the Child Nutrition Foundation, The Action for
Healthy Kids and The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) indicate that a highly effective strategy
to improve breakfast program participation is to conduct student-focused surveys that can provide
feedback to enable school districts to customize their breakfast programs for maximum participation.
The Breakfast in the Classroom program at the Edison School District, implemented in October, 2011 in
three elementary and two middle schools was launched with limited promotion or marketing. A well-
designed implementation plan that integrated feedback from students, parents and teachers, and also
took into account food service operations, had not yet been developed. The breakfast program
structure employed a pre-order process, which resulted in a low average daily participation rate. To
address this problem, the district superintendent instituted a new policy that replaced the pre-ordering
process with an unsolicited breakfast meal distribution approach for all free and reduced meal eligible
students. Paid students, however, still had to pre-order breakfast. This approach, though more
successful, still did not yield the anticipated daily participation rate. In addition, a high number of
breakfast meals are returned daily, which increases food cost and waste. Lastly, the distinction between
free and reduced students became obvious in the classroom setting since only those students receive
the breakfast meal bags. This has a stigmatizing effect which negatively impacts the daily participation
rate and results in returned meal bags. These last two issues were particularly prevalent and systemic in
the middle school.
To identify the factors that influence students’ decisions to participate in the breakfast program and
receive input into menu development, a survey was proposed. The survey was designed to elicit
responses about students’ breakfast consumption habits, and food preferences and dislikes. The
information obtained from the survey responses could supply Chartwells and the school district with
information that could lead to the development of an effective marketing strategy and an appealing
breakfast menu, potentially resulting in increased daily participation.
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2. Elizabeth M. Madison
Target Population
Middle school students were the target population for this survey. This population was chosen due to
the exceptionally low daily participation rate, the high rate of returned breakfast meals and the negative
response created by the mandatory breakfast meal distribution policy for free and reduced meal eligible
students.
Sample Size
The average daily population for Thomas Jefferson Middle School is 750. Given a 95% confidence level
with a confidence interval of 4, the minimum sample size required to reliably represent the middle
school population was 334. This sample size ensured that a sufficient number of breakfast program
participating students completed the survey, as the majority of the students are not participating.
750 surveys were distributed, 571 were returned, and 217 were incomplete and thus could not be used.
354 were completed accurately and used for data collection, which exceeded the required minimal
sample size.
Intervention
A survey was used to conduct the breakfast feedback study.
Control
Due to the survey design, a control group was not necessary.
Timeframe
The survey was conducted on February 12, 2012. The completed surveys were returned on February 13,
2012.
Location
The survey was conducted at the Thomas Jefferson Middle School.
Methodology
The survey was designed with feedback from the school principal, two teachers, and food service
management during food service advisory committee meetings. The survey contained 16 questions: 1
open-ended, 5 with yes/no responses, 5 with multiple choice responses, 4 with single choice responses,
and 1 with a ranked response.
The anonymous survey was distributed to all present and available students in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades
by teachers during homeroom on February 12, 2012.
The returned surveys were reviewed for completeness. Surveys that were not complete were
disqualified from the data analysis. Each question was tallied separately using an an Excel workbook to
record results.
Results
The survey yielded valuable data about students’ breakfast consumption patterns, food preferences and
the correlation between nutrition knowledge, behavior and motivation. The following are key findings.
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3. Elizabeth M. Madison
Breakfast consumption patterns
The majority of students ate breakfast at least 5 days a week (81%). 11% ate breakfast only 3-4 times
per week. 8% never ate breakfast. The main reason for not eating breakfast was due to lack of hunger.
Only 30% of children who ate breakfast at home had milk and a juice or fruit as part of the meal.
216 (61%) of students did not eat breakfast in school. 138 (39%) ate breakfast in school at least once a
week.
Breakfast program participation
The students who never participate in the breakfast program cited the following reasons for not doing
so:
 don’t like the menu - 82%
 not enough time to eat breakfast - 62%
 don’t like eating breakfast in the classroom - 15%
 would rather eat breakfast in the cafeteria - 9%
Breakfast program issues for participating students
The students who did participate in the breakfast program at least one day a week cited the following
concerns:
 don’t like the menu - 69%
o would like to have a hot breakfast
o want more variety for certain food items (see food preferences section below)
 not enough time to eat breakfast - 69%
 don’t like eating breakfast in the classroom - 8%
 would rather eat breakfast in the cafeteria - 15%
Food preferences
The food preference results were combined for participating and non-participating students. The
responses provided insight into students’ palates.
65% of surveyed students requested a complete, hot breakfast. They suggested pancakes, waffles,
home fries and bacon.
In the pastry category, the number one requested item was Pop-Tarts (168 respondents) followed
closely by bagels (132). Other requested items were:
 more cereal choices throughout the month, e.g. Frosted flakes, Trix, Cocoa Puffs
 more muffin flavors, e.g. chocolate chip was requested most often
 oatmeal with toppings
 granola bars
For beverages, chocolate milk was requested (52 respondents). Tea and coffee was requested (46),
however, only by eighth graders.
Breakfast promotion campaign ideas
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4. Elizabeth M. Madison
Of the five ideas presented, the idea that was ranked highest was ‘special events and promotions about
breakfast’ (213 respondents). The second highest ranking idea was messages about the health benefits
of breakfasts (164).
Discussion
The survey provided valuable feedback which can be used to improve menu offerings and promotion
strategies. Though hot breakfast was requested frequently, the original breakfast program implemented
in the 2010-2011 school year did feature hot breakfast, however, participation was low, hence the
program structure modification to the Breakfast in the Classroom model. Studies have shown that a
cafeteria - based breakfast program is only effective if students have ample time to arrive to school and
eat breakfast before classes start. This may not be feasible given the tight school day schedule.
The studies mentioned earlier confirm the survey’s findings regarding menu offerings and promotion
strategies. Students desire a significant amount of variety in breakfast items and become quickly
disinterested in repetitive menus. Menu promotion is a critical element to increasing daily participation.
Some evidence - based strategies include advertising of breakfast menu using social media, e.g.
Facebook and Twitter; school websites, public announcements, promoting breakfast during lunch with
flyers; and sponsoring contests for breakfast meal consumption. Food samplings, especially for new
breakfast items, are an extremely effective strategy. These ideas can be implemented with minimal cost
and could potentially increase the breakfast program participation rate.
The data regarding the low number of students reporting consumption of a complete breakfast at home
– a meal that includes milk and a fruit or fruit juice – provides an excellent opportunity to promote the
breakfast program. A marketing strategy could be developed that would promote the nutritionally –
sound, complete breakfast that is provided at no or low cost.
Some limitations of the survey were the high number of incomplete surveys. More clearly defined
instructions for each question may have resulted in more accurately completed surveys, yielding a
higher sample size. The nutrition education/behavioral change questions did not yield significantly
useful information. The students may have been experiencing survey fatigue by the time they
completed the questions and did not answer accurately or honestly. Another study exclusively focused
on behavioral change and nutrition education could be developed if so desired.
The research hypothesis that proposed that a survey would provide data that could be used to increase
the average daily participation rate was proven. The responses provided yielded significantly reliable
information (confidence level = 95%) in which to modify the Breakfast in the Classroom Program to
increase participation. However, to truly test the effectiveness of the survey, the changes to the menu
and promotional strategy would have to be implemented and the participation rate tracked following
implementation. In addition, the survey would have to be completed again to assess any changes in
responses. The Robert J. Wood Foundation funded several studies that used this approach. The results
of the second survey confirmed that the data derived from the first survey did result in greater
participation. To implement this strategy, a commitment from the school district would be required, as
there are several program components, particularly the marketing strategy, which would require buy-in
from the school administration.
Conclusion
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5. Elizabeth M. Madison
This research can add to the existing body of evidence regarding effective strategies for breakfast
programs. It can also result in significant, quantitative and qualitative improvements in the Edison
School District breakfast program. If the program is successful, it can be replicated in other Chartwells’
accounts.
References
1. National Dairy Council and the Child Nutrition Foundation. Marketing Strategies to Increase
Breakfast Participation. 2009.
2. The Action for Healthy Kids. Helping Students Make Better Food Choices in School, A Report.
2006.
3. The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). School Breakfast in America’s Big Cities. 2007.
4. Robert J. Wood Foundation. Breakfast First: Promotion & Outreach for Effective School
Breakfast Programs. 2011.
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