1. Smarter Lunchrooms Success Through Collaboration
Kelly Kunkel
Extension Educator, Health & Nutrition
May 12, 2018

2. What is Smarter Lunchrooms?
Smarter Lunchrooms is a nationwide movement that uses research-proven strategies to promote healthy food choices in school lunchrooms, without eliminating choice or impeding lunchroom operations. Already, over 30,000 K-12 schools have successfully implemented simple, no-cost and low-cost changes to “nudge” students to select, eat, and enjoy healthy foods.

3. Resources
Smarter Lunchrooms also provides training, tools, and other resources to support schools’ efforts to make the healthy choice, the easy choice.
The Smarter Lunchrooms National Office is run out of The Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs.

4. Our Journey
Our journey began in 2011 when the Minnesota Department of Health received a grant from the CDC to improve school food service. This project was known as Great Trays. Key partners from MN included: school nutrition association, Extension and departments of health and education.
2011

5. Our Journey
Great Trays was a successful partnership. So when the Department of Education received a team nutrition grant in 2013, they collaborated with Extension and public health to train school staff and public health staff on the Smarter Lunchroom Movement.

6. Our Journey with SNAP-ED
Extension staff worked with schools across the state on Smarter Lunchrooms. In 2016, The Smarter Lunchroom Movement was included in the Federal SNAP-Ed Toolkit. The Federal SNAP-Ed Toolkit lists Smarter Lunchrooms as an evidence based strategy.
Extension felt it was important for our SNAP-Ed staff to be trained to implement Smarter Lunchroom Strategies in low-income schools.
Classroom Education
Smarter Lunchroom Movement

7. Technical Assistance Providers
Certified Smarter Lunchrooms Technical Assistance Provider.or TAP are trained champions of the Smarter Lunchroom movement and provide assistance to schools to implement the evidence-based, simple strategies to use in school lunchrooms to increase the amount of healthy food children select and consume, while increasing participation and reducing waste.

8. TAP Training & Recruitment
University of Minnesota Extension – Lead For TAP Training
Let’s invite our partners!!
Minnesota Dept. of Health
Minnesota Dept. of Education
Action for Healthy Kids – MN
Minnesota School
Nutrition Association
The University of Minnesota Extension served as the lead For TAP Training in Minnesota. We invited our partners be plan and implement the training.
Minnesota Dept. of Health
Minnesota Dept. of Education
Action for Healthy Kids – MN
Minnesota School
Nutrition Association

9. Collaboration 2.0
After the first day of the TAP training, the Extension team sat down for dinner with the researcher from Cornell. We talked about the planning and implementation of the training with our state partners. After more discussion, the first Smarter Lunchrooms state collaborative was formed.

10. Smarter Lunchrooms National Office Team
The people we worked with from Cornell:
Heidi Kessler, Former Executive Director, Smarter Lunchrooms National Office
Adam Brumberg, Deputy Director, Cornell Food and Brand Lab
Erin Sharp, Curriculum Designer, Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs

11. Smarter Lunchrooms MN Collaborative
To be a state collaborative, you need to involve Extension (including SNAP-Ed), state health department and the state education department along with the Smarter Lunchroom National Office. We also have some smaller players such as Action for Healthy Kids.

12. Purpose & Mission Statement
Common goal: Improve the school nutrition environment to make it easier for kids to make healthy food decisions.
Common goal:
Improve the school nutrition environment to make it easier for kids to make healthy food decisions.

13. Minnesota Smarter Lunchrooms Ambassadors
This is our team of Smarter Lunchrooms Ambassadors from Minnesota. The organizations we represent can rely on each other to bring their respective strengths to the table, such as access to the target audience, capacity, funding, networking, content expertise, and evaluation.

14. Working Together
One of our MN Extension Educators has a joint position with North Dakota. She introduced the State Collaborative concept to North Dakota and now they too have a formal state collaborative.

15. Extension Website: extension.umn.edu
In addition to the State Ambassadors, we have 67 Technical Assistance Providers trained around the state to assist schools in implementing Smarter Lunchroom strategies. They come from all three of the key agencies involved in our state collaboration.
Extension Website: extension.umn.edu

16. Communication Multi-state, multi-agency TAP calls Leadership
Quarterly,1 hour calls
U of M Extension facilitates calls
Representative from National Office participates in calls
Focus on new information and sharing
Leadership
Each agency has a team lead
Multi-state, multi-agency TAP calls
Quarterly,1 hour calls
U of M Extension facilitates calls
Representative from National Office participates in calls
Focus on new information and sharing
Leadership
Each agency has a team lead

17. Smarter Lunchrooms in Minnesota
# schools reached = 400
Over the last few years, TAPS have worked with approximately 400 schools. Here is an example of how one school added posters to the wall in the serving area to add color and make it more eye appealing.

18. Next Steps
Reiterate to potential partners that this is an evidence-based strategy to decrease food waste and increase participation in school meals
Food waste by students is a concern for schools and parents. TAPS in Minnesota are reiterating to schools that Smarter Lunchrooms is evidence based strategy to decrease food waste and increase participation in school meals.

19. Next Steps Cornell’s Target Grant with 24 Minnesota Schools
The Minnesota State Collaborative benefits all partners and schools. Cornell received a grant from the Target Corporation to implement Smarter Lunchroom strategies in 24 Minneapolis/St. Paul schools. Local TAPS have been utilized to work with schools on various strategies with guidance from the National Smarter Lunchroom Office at Cornell.

20. Thank you!
Finally, it is important that we share our successes with others. At a stakeholder meeting refreshments were served “Smarter Lunchroom Style.” And yes, people took the colorful fruit cups instead of the plain cookies. They commented this helped them better understand what we were doing in schools.