Improving school meals and addressing social inequities to healthful food access is at the heart of a childhood obesity prevention grant that’s funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dr. Kristine Madsen of the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health is helping evaluate a two-year school meal technology and design innovation project by the San Francisco Unified School District.

"They’re trying to change the dining experience for kids and really encourage kids to eat school food. And some of the practical steps are what we’re calling 'distributing points of sale', so creating places that kids can purchase their food that’s not at the end of a long line in the cafeteria. So, what if you could get your food in a hallway, what if you could go to a mobile cart that sold hot food and you could pick it up and eat with your friends out in the quad? So, we do very rigorous scientific research to support them as they roll out this very innovative project. And we look to see, well what really happens? Do kids change their dietary habits, do they actually eat more fruits and vegetables? Does their diet improve?"