New research from scholars at the Prevention Research Center of the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine on the campus of Tulane University in New Orleans, has found a racial gap in salad bar usage by students in public school cafeterias.
The survey of public schools found that 60 percent of all students visited salad bars in the cafeterias. But White students were twice as likely as Black students to use salad bars.
Carolyn Johnson, a professor in the department of global community health and behavioral sciences at Tulane University and the director of the Prevention Research Center, stated that “knowing there are gaps in how salad bars are used, with some students benefiting more than others, is important because many schools in New Orleans and across the country have started using salad bars in their cafeterias. With this information we can help schools, and anyone who works with schools, address the gaps so all children are eating more fresh fruits and vegetables.”
The article, “Adolescent Student Use of School-Based Salad Bars,” was published in the October 2015 issue of the Journal of School Health. It may be accessed here.
