Salad Bars and Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Title I Elementary Schools

OBJECTIVE: Despite widespread support for salad bars as a means to increase fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake within the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), empirical support for their use is limited. This cross-sectional study examined associations between salad bar access and F&V selection and consumption in Title I elementary schools in Virginia serving universal free meals. METHODS: grade students were analyzed (92.5% NSLP participation; 98.6% racial/ethnic minority). CONCLUSIONS: Salad bar access might facilitate children's vegetable intake. Inconsistent results across school pairs suggest that school food environment factors other than salad bar access influenced F&V consumption.