Salad Bar Use among Middle School Children in a Socio-economically Disadvantaged Rural County

Objective: Our objective in this study was to inform policymakers if including a salad bar in school cafeterias in the district would serve all subgroups of students equally. Methods: A salad bar was implemented during the 2016-2017 academic year in a rural low-income county middle-school. Halfway through, a “healthy lifestyle” educational campaign was presented. Students’ gender, race, and body mass index (BMI) were recorded along with their choice of daily lunch item. Results: Overall, 528 middle schoolers participated in this program. Students opted to consume salad for approximately 5.73 days out of the 123 days that salad was served. The educational campaign had no effect on salad bar use. There was no gender difference in frequency of salad bar use. African- American students consumed significantly more salad than Hispanic students, and marginally more salad than white students. Students classified as normal weight (by BMI percentile) chose the salad bar option more frequently than obese students. Conclusions: Salad bar was the least popular food choice, and popularity of the salad bar decreased over time. The educational campaign designed to increase salad bar use had no effect. These results can help guide future interventions in low-income rural communities.