Implementation of a Hub and Spoke Model to Reduce Ultra Processed Foods in the School District of Philadelphia.

PROJECT SUMMARY Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are ready-to-eat (or ready-to-heat) industrial formulations of foods that are characterized by high levels of added sugars, unhealthy fats, salt, and chemical additives. UPFs are associated with poor dietary quality and increased risk of obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors in children, but concerningly, the rate of UPF consumption is increasing among children. Schools can play an important role in addressing these high rates of UPF consumption as school meal programs feed nearly 30 million students daily across the U.S., and students eating school breakfast and lunch consume nearly half of their daily calories in the school setting. However, schools often face many challenges to prepare scratch-cooked meals—including lack of infrastructure and training for school staff to prepare school meals from scratch— and therefore rely on UPFs to provide meals that minimize the need for equipment or preparation. This proposal seeks to address these barriers with long-term sustainable solutions through the development of a ‘hub-and- spoke’ model in the School District of Philadelphia; two full-service kitchens (‘hubs’) will receive the necessary equipment and resources to enhance meal service and reduce UPFs at those schools, as well as at an additional 8 schools (‘spokes’) that do not have functioning kitchen spaces and thus rely on pre-packaged, UPF options. Additionally, through collaborations with a local farm and the integration of Controlled Environmental Agriculture (CEA) equipment (e.g., hydroponic gardens) in the participating schools, more fresh food options will be integrated into the menus at these schools with corresponding student engagement opportunities. Overall, these investments will lead to high-impact, sustainable, and long term changes in the meals provided, leading to reductions in students’ exposures to UPFs.