With childhood obesity rising at alarming rates, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is funding an evaluation of a project developed by the San Francisco Unified School District that aims to make school food an enjoyable experience for all students. Kristine Madsen, a pediatrician and research scientist at the University of California, Berkeley and UC San Francisco Joint Medical Program is evaluating the multi-year program. It’s currently in one pilot school and includes mobile food carts, lounges in dining halls and a smart meal app where kids will be able to provide feedback for meals, and even order food.

"So, those are things that SFUSD is trying to do that we think are really innovative and forward thinking and ultimately we think other schools would want to do the same thing, but other schools won’t do it unless they know that it works. 4:00 So, we come in and we overlay a scientific evaluation that will hold water with other schools, other districts, both locally and across the state and even across the nation."