Comparing apples to oranges: How does cutting up fruit affect consumption in elementary school?

Background: Current federal recommendations are for all Americans to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables. According to the CDC, less than 20% of Kentucky's schoolchildren meet daily produce recommendations. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of one elementary school cafeteria's strategy to increase produce consumption by serving cut instead of whole fruit.

Methods: Data were collected on all school lunches consumed on 2 non-consecutive days in a rural Kentucky elementary school. On one day, cafeteria options included cut apples and oranges (N= 488), while on day 2, whole apples and oranges were offered (N= 491). Digital photography of numbered lunch trays was used to assess student consumption levels.

Results: Serving cut fruit significantly increased consumption of oranges, but did not have a similar impact with apples. The percentage of students eating at least half an apple was 37.8% for whole apples and 35.8% for cut apples. In contrast, the percentage of students eating at least half an orange was 40.7%, which increased to 62% when the oranges were sliced.

Conclusion: Serving cut versus whole fruit increased intake by 21.3% for oranges while decreasing intake of apples by 2%. Results suggest that it is worthwhile for school food service programs to slice oranges served at lunch, while a similar strategy for apples is unlikely to affect student consumption. This demonstrates that school cafeterias can take relatively simple steps to increase produce consumption, although the strategies will need to vary according to the specific type of produce.