We use data from a field experiment at 15 elementary schools to examine
effective incentives that increase the fraction of children eating a serving of fruit
or vegetable as part of their school lunch. We were able to raise the fraction of
children eating fruits or vegetables at lunch by 27.3 percentage points (an 80%
increase) by providing a small incentive. The incentives also reduced the fraction
of fruits and vegetables being thrown away by 43%. Our results indicate that
small incentives can dramatically increase fruit and vegetable consumption during
school lunch. Incentives also increase the cost effectiveness of the money schools
are already spending on fruits and vegetables by increasing the fraction of those
items that actually get consumed.