Lunch line redesign

Brian Wansink and his Cornell colleagues have teamed up with a designer to reconfigure school lunch lines to encourage kids to make healthier food choices, according to their op-ed—it’s interactive!—in yesterday’s New York Times.

My favorite part: “When cafeteria workers asked each child,”Do you want a salad” salad sales increased by a third.

Of course they did.  From my observations, the single factor that works best in getting kids to eat real food is exactly this: an adult who cares what kids eat.

I can go into a school lunchroom anywhere in America and tell right away whether there is any chance of getting kids to eat healthfully.  Do the cafeteria workers know the kids names and talk to them about the food?

If the answer is yes, the chances are really good.

If not?  Watch Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution TV programs, if you can find them.