We used the highest quartile for lower income and the lowest tertile for higher income. Schools with higher percentages of students eligible for FRPL were considered ‘lower-income schools’ and those with lower percentages of FRPL-eligible children were classified as ‘higher-income schools’. All fifty-two elementary schools in the district were ranked on the percentage of students eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) as part of the National School Lunch Program.

In addition, the present study aimed to determine whether stores accepting vouchers for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (a federal programme in the USA for improving health and nutrition of low-income mothers, known as WIC) ( 9 ) differ in their availability of nutritious items when compared with stores that do not accept WIC vouchers.ĭuring the spring of 2008, stores were selected for an audit of ‘healthy’ food items on the basis of their proximity to public elementary schools in Oakland. The present study examines the range of food outlets around lower-income schools compared with higher-income schools and compares the availability of nutritious food items in food stores encountered near these schools. Research with US schoolchildren in Philadelphia showed that as many as 48 % of these inner-city children routinely bought snacks at corner stores after school ( Reference Karpyn, Sherman and Foster 8 ).

Given the evidence that lower-income and minority children have higher rates of walking to school than do their counterparts ( Reference McDonald 7 ), the food environment around schools may be particularly relevant for them. Students are particularly exposed to the food environment around their school during travel to and from school, as well as during the lunch hour when schools have an ‘open campus’ policy permitting students to leave campus for lunch ( Reference Wechsler, Brener and Kuester 6 ). Their presence near schools increases student access to high-fat foods. However, the school food environment extends beyond the school walls, and into the immediate neighbourhoods that surround schools, especially for those children who walk or bike to and from school.įast-food outlets ( Reference Austin, Melly and Sanchez 3, Reference Simon, Kwan and Angelescu 4 ) and convenience stores ( Reference Zenk and Powell 5 ) are concentrated around schools. Much of the existing research on children's food environments has centred on the school food environment, with a focus on the foods that children consume during school hours ( Reference Finkelstein, Hill and Whitaker 1, Reference Story, Nanney and Schwartz 2 ).

A growing body of obesity research focuses on the food environment and how increased access to nutritious foods might enable people to make better food choices.

Fruits and vegetables wic approved