Policy Versus Practice: School Food Practices Do Not Reflect Healthy Food Guidance in New Zealand Primary Schools

Abstract

Objective: To examine how school food policies and perceived barriers influence food provision in New Zealand primary school canteens, using the ‘Healthy Food and Drink Guidance for Schools.’

Design: Cross-sectional analyses of school food menus, and school food policy and practices surveys completed by school leaders/principals.

Setting: New Zealand primary schools.

Participants: 239 primary schools completed the school food policies and practices survey, and 80 schools provided canteen menus.

Results: Most schools reported having a healthy food and drink policy in their school (76.2%) and promoted healthy eating during school hours (87.4%). Two-thirds (69.5%) identified barriers to healthy food and drink provision, most commonly the convenience of ready-made foods (39.3%), and resistance from parents (34.3%). The number of reported barriers was not a significant predictor for the presence of a school food policy (OR-1.034, p=0.841). School menus (n=80) consisted of 16.4% ‘green’ items, 34.7% ‘amber’ items, and 36.8% ‘red’ items. There was no relationship between the percentage of ‘green’, ‘amber’, and ‘red’ items and the presence of a school food policy or reported barriers. More than a third (38.9%) of menus from schools that reported they had a ‘Plain Milk and Water’ only policy still contained sugar-sweetened beverages.

Conclusions: Although most New Zealand primary schools had healthy food policies, this was not consistently reflected in healthy food items on canteen menus. Further research is needed to understand how systemic barriers, such as cost, convenience, and parental influence, affect policy implementation and school food provision.