School Nutrition Services (SNS) Research

Publication: JAND

Date Published: November 2017

Reference: 

Validity and Interrater Reliability of the Visual Quarter-Waste Method for Assessing Food Waste in Middle School and High School Cafeteria Settings
Getts, Katherine M. et al.
Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Volume 117, Issue 11, 1816 - 1821

Key Takeaways: Evaluated the effectiveness of the visual quarter waste method in measuring food waste in school cafeterias. This method estimates the portion of food left on the trays by visualizing and assessing whether one quarter, one half, three quarters, or the entire portion is missing. The study found that this was a valid tool in measuring reliable tool in measuring plate waste in school cafeteria settings. This method is also cost-effective and requires fewer resources, like weighing scales, which makes it suitable for large-scale interventions. and routine assessments in school nutrition programs.

#Validity/Reliability