Objective: To assess the school food environment in terms of breakfast consumption,
school meals, learners’ lunch box, school vending and classroom activities related
to nutrition.
Design: Cross-sectional survey.
Setting: Ninety purposively selected poorly resourced schools in South Africa.
Subjects: Questionnaires were completed by school principals (n 85), school
feeding coordinators (n 77), food handlers (n 84), educators (n 687), randomly
selected grade 5 to 7 learners (n 2547) and a convenience sample of parents
(n 731). The school menu (n 75), meal served on the survey day, and foods at
tuck shops and food vendors (n 74) were recorded.
Results: Twenty-two per cent of learners had not eaten breakfast; 24% brought a
lunch box, mostly with bread. Vegetables (61%) were more often on the school
menu than fruit (28%) and were served in 41% of schools on the survey day
compared with 4% serving fruit. Fifty-seven per cent of learners brought money to
school. Parents advised learners to buy fruit (37%) and healthy foods (23%). Tuck
shops and vendors sold mostly unhealthy foods. Lack of money/poverty (74%)
and high food prices (68%) were major challenges for healthy eating. Most (83%)
educators showed interest in nutrition, but only 15% had received training in
nutrition. Eighty-one per cent of educators taught nutrition as part of school subjects.
Conclusions: The school food environment has large scope for improvement
towards promoting healthy eating. This includes increasing access to vegetables and
fruit, encouraging learners to carry a healthy lunch box, and regulating foods sold
through tuck shops and food vendors.