The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #46269

Suzanne M Havala Hobbs, DrPH, MS, RD, Department of Health Policy and Administration, School of Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1101E McGavran-Greenberg, CB#7411, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7411, 919-843-4621, Suzanne_Hobbs@unc.edu, Thomas C. Ricketts, PhD, MPH, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 725 Airport Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, Janice M. Dodds, EdD, RD, Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 4101 McGavran Greenberg Building, CB#7400, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, Nancy Milio, PhD, Professor of Health Policy and Nursing, University of North Carolina, 313 Columbia Place East, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, and Pam C. Silberman, JD, DrPH, Sheps Center for Health Services Research, UNC-Chapel Hill, 725 Airport Road, CB# 7590, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7590.

In the United States, nutrition is the subject of Congressional policymaking through support of school lunch programs. Issues of nutritional excess drove school meal reform efforts in the 1990s. Regulatory changes proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1994 held promise for bringing comprehensive and progressive changes to the NSLP. However, intensive lobbying by interest groups resulted in substantial changes to the final rule. The research reported here retrospectively examines the process of federal school-meals policymaking during the years 1992 through 1996. The key questions address why the policy changed and what the role of interest groups was in affecting the shape, pace, and direction of the policy. The research design and methodology used an ecological view of policymaking similar to the advocacy coalition approach to interpret school-meals policymaking. Qualitative data from semi-structured key informant interviews were complemented by objective data obtained through document review. The study found that one interest group in particular – the American School Food Service Association – had the greatest influence on the shape, pace, and direction of the policy. The study provides suggestions for food and nutrition policymakers for using the experiences of 1992 through 1996 to guide their future efforts as well as how to adapt the approach used in this case and apply it to analyses of other food and nutrition policies.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Recall the rationale for regulatory changes proposed by USDA in 1992 for school meals.
• Explain reasons that the policy changed between 1992 and 1996 and what role interest groups had in affecting the shape, pace, and direction of the policy.
• Apply lessons learned to guide and improve the effectiveness of future food and nutrition policymaking efforts.

Keywords: Food and Nutrition, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.