School Food Environment Assessment
Tools and Resources
Alliance for a Healthier Generation: How to Complete an Assessment
How to Complete an Assessment | Alliance for a Healthier Generation (healthiergeneration.org)
Description: Information on how to complete a school food environment assessment from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Healthier Generation has worked with schools, youth-serving organizations, businesses, communities, and families to promote health equity environments that support whole child health.
FoodCorps Healthy School Toolkit | SNAP-Ed (snaped.fns.usda.gov)
Description: The FoodCorps Healthy School Toolkit is a PSE change intervention designed to improve school food environments over time. The Toolkit includes a research-backed assessment tool that is used by school teams to assess healthy school food environment activities.
School Health Index (SHI): Self-Assessment & Planning Guide
SHI | Introduction | Healthy Schools | CDC (cdc.gov)
Description: The School Health Index (SHI): Self-Assessment & Planning Guide was developed by CDC in partnership with school administrators and staff, school health experts, parents, and national nongovernmental health and education agencies.
Assessing School Breakfast Potential
Assessing School Breakfast Potential | Food and Nutrition Service (cfacaa.human.cornell.edu)
Description: This webpage will help you build a School Breakfast expansion team, identify strengths and barriers to increasing participation, create an action plan to address program improvements, and incorporate marketing strategies to make school breakfast healthier and more appealing to students.
A Bird's Eye View: How Healthy is Our 4-H Camp Environment (healthyschoolrecipes.com)
Description: This tool was developed to help after-school staff assess where they are now in terms of supporting healthy eating and active play, and to think about possible ways to be more supportive. The goal is to generate a discussion and help promote thinking about changing environments rather than only individual behavior.
Components of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC)
Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) | Healthy Schools | CDC (cdc.gov)
Description: The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child, or WSCC model, is CDC’s framework for addressing health in schools. This webpage lists the different components, including "Nutrition Environment and Services."
Research
USDA School Food Environment Systematic Review
A Series of Systematic Reviews on the Effects of Nutrition Education on Children's and Adolescents' Dietary Intake (nesr.usda.gov)
Description: Systematic review from the USDA titled: 'What are the effects of combining changes to the food environment and nutrition education compared to either of these strategies alone on children's and adolescents' dietary intake-related behaviors?' This NEL review presents what we know from research about the effects on children's diets of combining changes to the school food environment with nutrition education compared to either one of these alone.
Effects of Policies or Interventions That Influence the School Food Environment on Children's Health and Non-health Outcomes: A Systematic Review (academic.oup.com)
Description: Systematic review from Nutrition Reviews titled: 'Effects of policies or interventions that influence the school food environment on children's health and non-health outcomes: a systematic review.' This systematic review aimed to assess the effects of implementing policies or interventions that influence the school food environment on children's health and non-health outcomes.
Collection of Evidence-Based Strategies for School Nutrition and Physical Activity
Collection of Evidence-Based Strategies for School Nutrition and Physical Activity | Healthy Schools | CDC (cdc.gov)
Description: This CDC webpage hosts a collection of evidence-based strategies that district and school leaders can use to improve the nutrition and PA environments.