Marketing Healthy Foods on the Line

Marketing on the Line is Important You are in a position to influence all of the students in your schools to choose healthy items! In person marketing should be done by each server and cashier. Make eye contact, interact with your customers. Talking is a more effective way to market then expensive signage. “It’s not nutrition until its eaten.”

Suggestive Selling Works Instead of…Try this… Do you want fries with that?Do you want broccoli with that? You must take three components.Have you tried the fresh broccoli today? It is delicious. You know you should really eat your vegetables. That broccoli will give you the energy you need for your game tonight. You didn’t take any vegetables, don’t you like them? Try a little bit of the new vegetable today, you may be surprised how good it is. Silence on the line….Look Joe is going to do well in school because he is making healthy choices. Good job Hannah for choosing the healthiest choice!

The Smarter Lunchrooms Movement Smarter Lunchrooms Movement  Cornell University, Foods and Brands Lab The Smarter Lunchrooms Movement has assembled a set of Best Practices which are effective at creating an environment that nudges kids toward healthful choices.

The Smarter Lunchroom Movement What’s it all about?

General Recommendations Look at the lunch line from the perspective of the students in your school. Remember to consider the height and reach of the kids. You may have to bend over to look at the line from their point of view and imagine how far they can reach. Make healthy foods stand out:  Add signs, a desk lamp or other illumination so that kids won’t miss seeing the fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc

Increase the number of students that select: FRUIT Cornell’s studies showed that moving and highlighting the fruit increased sales by up to 102% Recommended Strategies:  Can you see the fruit clearly as you make your way down the lunch line?  Look for the most visible and convenient, easy to see reach spot near the register.  Put it in a nice basket or bowl, anything to get it out of the stainless steel serving pans Best Practices Display fruit near the register Display whole fruit in a bowl. Use signs to draw attention to fruit. Sweet, Juicy Peaches

Increase the number of students that select: VEGETABLES Cornell’s studies showed that naming vegetables (and having the names displayed with the foods) increases selection from between 40% and 70%). Recommended Strategies:  Do the vegetables have inviting and age appropriate names? Younger children respond to fun, creative names like X-Ray Carrots, while older student respond to names that include descriptive or taste-enhancing words like spicy, fresh or wild.  Let the kids come up with the names; hold a school wide contest!  Make sure the names are visible, written on a poster or name card next to the vegetables  Make sure that the veggies are more prominently displayed and better lit than the other side dishes. Best Practices Give veggies a creative/ descriptive name Display names of veggies on menu boards Display veggies in a prominent place Fresh Crisp Vegetables

Increase the number of students that select: MILK Cornell’s studies showed that placing white milk first in the cooler has resulted in an increase of up to 46% in milk sales. Recommended Strategies:  Is the white milk in all beverage coolers and the most visible and easiest to reach of the drinks for sale?  Is white milk 1/3 of the total number of visible milk cartons?  The white milk should also be the first and easiest milk for kids to grab. As little effort as possible should be needed for kids to select white milk. Best Practices Place white milk in front of flavored Place white milk in every cooler Have at least 1/3 of all milk offered be white Ice Cold Milk

Increase the number of students that select: TARGETED ENTREE Cornell’s studies showed that the first or highlighted item in line has an 11% advantage over the second option. Recommended Strategies:  Determined which entrée you wish to highlight (least caloric, most nutrient dense, lowest sodium, etc).  Visibility is the key. Is the targeted entree more visible than other items and easy to reach (if the students are serving themselves)?  Does it have it a name and is the name prominently displayed next to the item?  If students are being served, give the entrees the star treatment, do everything you can to make sure that this is the entrée the kids see first. Best Practices Make the entrée most prominent dish Give the entrée a name and display it Market the entrée outside the cafeteria Garden-Fresh Wrap

Increase the number of students that select: REIMBURSABLE MEAL Cornell’s studies showed the number of student consumption of healthy items increased by 35% after the introduction of a “healthy choices only” convenience line Recommended Strategies:  Visibility and convenience are again the key.  Are all the components to make a reimbursable meal available at every location where students can buy any type of food?  Is it easier (faster) for a student to purchase reimbursable meal components than it is for them to buy competitive foods?  Take advantage of every point of interaction. Grab and go reimbursable meals should be available at the snack window and any convenience line your school may have. Best Practices Have a reimbursable meal at every location Move all competitive foods away from serving counter Create a healthy reimb meal convenience line Gold Star Meals

The Results

SMART Discussion Now its your turn: What recommended strategies can you implement that will encourage the healthy choice on your lunch line?

Cornell University, Foods and Brands Lab Smarterlunchrooms.org For additional information on Idaho Smart School Meals contact: Child Nutrition Programs at or the NSLP team "This institution is an equal opportunity provider." Resources