Full Article
Please note that this study was published before the implementation of Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which went into effect during the 2012-13 school year, and its provision for Smart Snacks Nutrition Standards for Competitive Food in Schools, implemented during the 2014-15 school year. As such, certain research may not be relevant today.
Change. The word itself evokes many feelings: excitement, fear, challenge. Webster defines change as “to make radically different, to give a different position, course, or direction to.” Synonyms include transform, alter, vary, and modify.
With Issue 1, 2002, The Journal of Child Nutrition & Management is undergoing a major change, from print format to electronic format. The typical feelings associated with change are being felt by the editor, editorial staff, and authors. As I have tried to allay some of these fears, I have thought through the advantages of this change to the profession – and I think there are many.
The biggest advantage of the new electronic format will be easier accessibility to the Journal, which should result in a larger readership. We’re hopeful that more school foodservice practitioners will read the Journal and use the information provided in this publication to solve problems and improve practices. The good news for those of us teaching classes is that theJournal will be available online for our students’ use. Be assured that we will continue using the same submission and review procedures to ensure the continued quality and rigor of articles. The layout also will be similar, so that when the article is downloaded and printed, it will resemble articles from past issues. Additionally, we will continue to publish two issues each year, in late spring and late fall. We will, however, continue to look at ways to make the whole submission, review, and production process more efficient.
Going online exclusively will save the Association printing and mailing costs, thereby making continued publication of the Journal more feasible. The bottom line is that the gains may be far greater than the “give ups.” As one author noted, “I am comfortable with the change in format and delighted to submit my manuscript for consideration under these innovative conditions.”
This first online issue has several articles that will be of interest to school foodservice practitioners and academicians. Research related to the time for students to eat meals is summarized in an article by Conklin, Lambert, and Anderson. Giampaoli et al. address food safety issues in two articles: One identifies school foodservice directors’ attitudes about food safety and HACCP programs and barriers to implementation of safe practices, and another presents a practical audit tool that could be used to assess employee food-handling practices. The article on superintendents’ perceptions of school foodservice provides evidence about the stress of running a foodservice program for the administrator, and the need to have qualified foodservice directors operate financially viable programs. Two newer issues are addressed in articles by Gregoire and Strohbehn and Lee and Shanklin: one relates to purchasing food from local growers and producers, and another relates to food recovery in school foodservice. Finally, Sullivan et al. present the results of a national study on training needs of foodservice managers.
We hope that you will like the “new” Journal. We look forward to your feedback and ideas for other ways this resource can be improved. I would like to thank the Journal editors, ASFSA’s Web team, and art director for working through the many issues involved with this change.
Kudos to you for your hard work and dedication to making the Journal the best it can be. This new format demonstrates our commitment to change and innovation.
So, continue to read the latest research about child nutrition programs! Issue 1, Spring 2002
Jeannie Sneed, PhD, RD, SFNS
Editor