Proposed study would look at food left on students’ plates in several Dallas schools (UPDATE)

Update, 8/27/2012: Dallas ISD trustees approved the proposal for the “plate waste study” at Thursday’s meeting.

Original blog post:

One school’s trash is treasure to researchers studying the impact that limiting potatoes and other starchy vegetables could have on students’ eating habits.

Dallas ISD trustees will consider Thursday allowing three elementary schools to participate in a plate waste collection study, which will be conducted by Texas A&M AgriLife Research. The research, budgeted at $197,617, is funded by the Alliance for Potato Research and Education.

Under the agreement, plate waste studies would be conducted at some middle schools to determine the impact that line placement and signage has on food selection and consumption. Plate waste studies would determine the effectiveness of the interventions.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture had considered a requirement for national school meal programs that would have placed a limit on starchy vegetables, like potatoes, but it was blocked by Congress. However, questions remain on how limiting starchy vegetables can effect consumption. For instance, is that burger really more desirable with a side of fries or carrot sticks?

Researchers plan to scrape plates, weigh, and photograph food left on trays for the pilot study. The plan is to visit three elementary schools (not named in board documents) on 10 occasions, for a total of 30 visits this fall.

The research plan also calls for visiting three elementary schools in Bryan ISD in South Texas and possibly other school districts in the future.