Smarter Lunchroom Movement

The Smarter Lunchroom Movement is an initiative launched by the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs (the BEN center) and funded in part by USDA FNS/ERS with the goal of using research-based principles to nudge students towards making healthy dietary choices. The strategies and tools developed by the program are based in principles of Behavioral economics, marketing and Psychology. Using a "scorecard" of 60 free or low-cost strategies, participating lunchrooms can evaluate their current lunchroom setup and identify simple ways to increase healthy food consumption and reduce waste.

The program was introduced in 2009 and has since been implemented in over 30,000 schools across the United States. In 2017, the Smarter Lunchroom Movement was adapted to suit child care environments with a program called Smarter Mealtime. Research shows that the Smarter Lunchroom Movement effectively increases consumption of healthier items at a low cost for schools.

The movement has received coverage by major media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post and NPR and has inspired changes at local, corporate and legislative levels.

Influence

In 2009, Sodexo, a major food service provider for schools around the world, embraced principles from the Smarter Lunchroom Movement to guide students towards healthier eating.

In 2017, the Smarter Lunchroom Act, which would require public schools to use Smarter Lunchroom Movement Strategies, was introduced to the New Jersey General Assembly.