Findings indicating low levels of FV intake among children in this study are consistent with national data which indicate that boys and girls ages 9-13 consume 3.7 FV servings/day and only 18% to 20% of children in this age group consume 5 or more daily servings of fruits and vegetables.2 Children in this study consumed greater than 50% of their daily FV intake within the school setting. Previous studies have reported that the lunch meal accounted for an approximate range of 15% to 30% of the total daily FV intake.10-12 School meals offered through the SBP7 and the NSLP8 may provide an important opportunity for increased FV consumption. Previous research suggests that participants in SBP were more likely than nonparticipants
to consume 100% fruit juice or some type of fruit for breakfast, compared with nonparticipants.6 Furthermore, about half of all NSLP participants consumed at least one vegetable at lunch, compared with 23% of nonparticipants; however, this pattern was primarily
driven by increases in the consumption of potato foods, such as french fries and tater tots.6 The vegetable measure utilized in this investigation excludes fried vegetables (eg, french fries), and yet accounts for 44% of the daily vegetable intake among study participants.