title: Introducing systems change in the schools: the case of school luncheons and vending machines.
abstract: A major public health crisis facing America's society is the increase in child and youth obesity, which has seen a fourfold increase in the last four decades. Major concerns include what children eat for school lunch and what other foods are available in schools. This paper illustrates efforts towards systems change in the luncheon program and food vending machines in the Chicago Public Schools. We discuss the different factors that lead to such changes using the framework of the social ecological model and the soft systems methodology, and we analyze how the resulting innovation was implemented and evaluated. First, we present a theoretical perspective to explain factors that influence children's eating patterns from a systems approach. Second, we discuss the antecedent factors that lead to systems change. Finally, we examine challenges to systems change, such as resistance to change, different stakeholder priorities, lack of resources, institutional bureaucracy, and unrealistic funder expectations.
authors: College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1919 West Taylor, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. ysuarez@uic.edu
authors: Yolanda
authors: Y
authors: Suarez-Balcazar
authors: Ladonna
authors: L
authors: Redmond
authors: Joanne
authors: J
authors: Kouba
authors: Maureen
authors: M
authors: Hellwig
authors: Rochelle
authors: R
authors: Davis
authors: Louise I
authors: LI
authors: Martinez
authors: Lara
authors: L
authors: Jones
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D005509:Food Dispensers, Automatic; D006801:Humans; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D011640:Public Policy; D012574:Schools / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012922:Social Change; D014481:United States