Students' Food Preferences on Vegetarian Menus Served at Middle and High Schools

Lee, Kyung Eun; Hong, Wan Soo; Kim, Mi Hyun

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess students'preferences on vegetarian menus served at middle and high schools. Four school food service programs that served primarily vegetarian menus were located in Seoul, Kyunggi, Kangwon, and Choongnam provinces. A total of 100 menu items frequently served at the schools were identified. Students participating in the school meals programs were asked to assess their preferences of the menus using a 5-point Likert-type scale(1 : very dislike ~ 5 : very like). Excluding responses with significant missing data, usable responses were 659. Statistical analyses were performed with descriptive statistics, t-tests, and one-way analysis of variance. Menu items of the highest preference scores included kimchi stew, stir-fried kimchi, nangmyon(cold noodles), fried rice and kimchi, miso stew, soft tofu stew, and hard-boiled quail eggs in soy sauce. By menu category, one-dish foods(3.97) were the most preferred and muchim and namul were the least preferred. Female students showed higher preferences on kimchi, steamed items(jjim), stir-fried items, namul, and muchim than male students; middle school students'preference scores were higher than those of the high school students in most menu categories. The menu preference is known as one of the most important factors determining students'food consumption and satisfaction with school food service. Dietitians working at school food service programs that serve primarily vegetarian menus should provide students with nutrition education on proper food selection and focus their efforts on developing new recipes using various vegetables and preparation methods to improve students'food consumption and menu preference.