Healthy Food Policies Documented in University Food Service Contracts

Stacy M. Fandetti (), Alicia Anne Dahl, Caitlan Webster, Morium Barakat Bably, Maren J. Coffman and Elizabeth F. Racine
Additional contact information
Stacy M. Fandetti: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Alicia Anne Dahl: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Caitlan Webster: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Morium Barakat Bably: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Maren J. Coffman: School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Elizabeth F. Racine: Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M University, 1380 A and M Circle, El Paso, TX 79927, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 16, 1-14

Abstract: In the United States, there is an opportunity to improve the nutritional health of university students through the campus food environment. This project used a content analysis approach to investigate whether healthy food standards and policies were incorporated into the contract agreements between North Carolina (NC) public universities and their food service management companies. Food service contracts were collected from 14 NC public universities using food service management companies on campus. Each contract was evaluated using the 35-item North Carolina Food Service Policy Guidelines Assessment to examine four elements of the campus food environment: Beverages, Packaged Snacks, Prepared Foods, and Other (e.g., strategic placement of healthier food). Five university food service contracts incorporated no North Carolina Food Service Policy Guidelines, three university contracts included one to five guidelines, and six university contracts included six to nine guidelines. Altogether, 13 of the 35 guidelines were incorporated into at least one university food service contract. This project presents a cost and time-effective assessment method for determining if evidence-based nutrition guidelines have been included in university food service contracts. This approach and findings may lead to contract revisions to improve the campus food environment and, subsequently, the nutritional health of college populations.

Keywords: university food environment; emerging adults; food service contracts; food environment policy; university students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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