Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

1-1-2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.S. in Food and Nutrition Services

Department

Nutrition and Hospitality Management

First Advisor

Laurel Lambert

Second Advisor

Teresa Carithers

Third Advisor

Yunhee Chang

Relational Format

dissertation/thesis

Abstract

The Mississippi Recipes for Success (MRS), A Guide for Child Nutrition Programs provides printed and online resources for child nutrition directors. These resources include recipes and methods to assist directors in effectively implementing United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrition standards. The purpose of this study was to investigate if child nutrition directors utilize these resources, as well as assess child nutrition directors’ perceptions of the helpfulness, satisfaction, and importance of the various components of the online and 2014 printed versions of the MRS. Data collection for this study involved an online survey that evaluated directors’ usage of the resources and their perceived helpfulness, importance, and satisfaction. The response rate was 68% (N=100). Means for all of the likert-type scales were above three (out of a 4-point scale). Cronbach’s alphas shohigh internal consistency among items. Overall results indicated high satisfaction with the MRS. Satisfaction remained high among all directors. There were not significant differences in response among directors and size of school districts or the number of years a director worked in child nutrition. MRS is a valuable resource utilized by child nutrition program (CNP) directors implementing USDA nutrition standards. The Mississippi Depart of Education’s Office of Child Nutrition will utilize findings from this study in developing future revisions of MRS resources. The positive ratings by directors of the MRS resource has the potential to serve as a catalyst for future state- and nation-wide initiatives to assist Child Nutrition directors in meeting USDA nutrition standards.

Included in

Nutrition Commons

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