Researchers wanted to see if having a school garden and teaching kids about nutrition would help them eat more of their school lunches. They watched students in grades 1-5 at four different schools over two weeks and measured how much food they actually ate. Students at schools with gardens and nutrition classes ate about 13% more of their main dish and 12% more total meal compared to students at regular schools. This pilot study suggests that combining hands-on gardening with nutrition education might be a promising way to get kids to eat better at school.

The Quick Take

  • What they studied: Does combining a school garden program with nutrition education classes help elementary school kids eat more of their school lunches?
  • Who participated: Students in grades 1-5 (ages 6-11) from four public schools—two schools received the garden and nutrition program (one in a wealthier area, one in a lower-income area), and two similar schools without the program served as comparison groups.
  • Key finding: Students at schools with the garden and nutrition program ate significantly more food: they consumed about 47.5% of their main dish compared to 34.5% at regular schools, and about 44% of their entire meal including salad compared to 31% at regular schools.
  • What it means for you: If your child’s school started a garden program with nutrition education, they might eat more nutritious food at lunch. However, this was a small pilot study, so more research is needed before schools make big changes based on these results.

The Research Details

This was a pilot study, which means it was a small test run before doing a bigger research project. Researchers selected four schools and paired them carefully—two schools got the intervention (a school garden plus nutrition education classes), while two similar schools without these programs served as comparison groups. The researchers actually watched students eat lunch and measured exactly how much food they consumed from their trays using a special observation system. They collected data over 13 days, watching students during 28 different lunch periods to get a good picture of eating habits.

The study included schools from both wealthier and lower-income neighborhoods to see if the program worked equally well for all students. Researchers used statistical methods to analyze the data and account for differences between schools, making sure the results weren’t just due to chance or other factors.

This research approach is important because it uses direct observation rather than just asking kids what they ate, which can be unreliable. By actually watching and measuring food consumption, researchers get accurate data about whether the intervention really changes eating behavior. Testing in both high- and low-income schools helps determine if the program could work for different communities.

This is a pilot study, which means it’s designed to test whether an idea is worth studying more carefully—not to prove something definitively. The sample size wasn’t specified in the abstract, which is a limitation. The study used careful observation methods and statistical analysis, which strengthens the results. However, because it’s a pilot study with a relatively short observation period (13 days), the findings are promising but not conclusive. The researchers recommend doing a larger, more rigorous study before making widespread changes.

What the Results Show

Students at intervention schools ate significantly more of their school meals than students at comparison schools. Specifically, students in the garden and nutrition education program consumed 47.5% of their main entrée, compared to only 34.5% at schools without the program—that’s about 13 percentage points more. When researchers looked at the entire meal including side salads, intervention school students ate 44.1% of their total meal versus 31.2% at comparison schools—a difference of about 13 percentage points.

When researchers adjusted their analysis to account for other factors that might affect eating, they found that students in intervention schools consumed about 0.13 more portion units of the main dish and 0.11 more portion units when including the salad. Both of these differences were statistically significant, meaning they’re unlikely to have happened by chance. The program appeared to work equally well at both the wealthier and lower-income schools, with no significant differences between school types.

The study found that the intervention worked consistently across the different lunch periods observed and didn’t show different effects based on school poverty level. This suggests the garden and nutrition education approach may be broadly applicable to different communities. The fact that students ate more of both the main dish and the salad indicates the program may have influenced overall meal consumption rather than just making kids eat one specific type of food.

Previous research has suggested that school gardens and nutrition education can improve students’ knowledge about healthy eating and their attitudes toward vegetables. This study adds to that body of research by showing that these programs may actually translate into increased consumption of school meals—moving beyond just knowledge to actual behavior change. The findings support earlier evidence that hands-on, experiential learning through gardening can be more effective than traditional nutrition education alone.

This was a pilot study with a small number of schools, so the results may not apply to all schools everywhere. The observation period was relatively short (13 days), so we don’t know if students would continue eating more over a longer time period. The study didn’t track individual students over time, so we can’t tell if the same kids ate more or if different kids were eating more on different days. The sample size wasn’t clearly reported, making it hard to judge how many students were actually observed. Finally, the study didn’t measure other important outcomes like whether kids learned more about nutrition or whether their overall health improved.

The Bottom Line

Based on this pilot study, schools may want to consider implementing combined school garden and nutrition education programs as a promising strategy to increase student meal consumption. However, because this is preliminary research, schools should view this as one piece of evidence supporting further investigation rather than a definitive recommendation. The evidence is moderate in strength—promising but not conclusive. Schools interested in trying this should plan to evaluate their own results and contribute to the larger body of research.

Elementary school administrators and nutrition directors should pay attention to these findings as a potential strategy to improve student nutrition. Parents may be interested in advocating for such programs at their children’s schools. Teachers could benefit from understanding how hands-on learning experiences might improve student engagement with healthy eating. Students themselves might enjoy and benefit from garden programs. However, schools with very limited budgets should know that this approach requires resources for garden setup and teacher training, so it may not be immediately feasible for everyone.

This pilot study observed changes over just 13 days, so students showed increased consumption relatively quickly. However, it’s unclear whether these changes would last over weeks or months. Schools implementing such a program should expect to see initial changes in eating behavior fairly soon, but longer-term studies are needed to understand if benefits persist and whether they lead to lasting healthy eating habits.

Want to Apply This Research?

  • If your school has a garden program, track the percentage of lunch your child eats each day using a simple scale (none, a little, half, most, all). Record this weekly to see if consumption increases over the school year.
  • Encourage your child to spend time in the school garden if available, and ask them what vegetables they grew or learned about. At lunch, challenge them to try at least one vegetable from the garden program. Use the app to celebrate when they eat more of their meal.
  • Set a monthly check-in to review your child’s meal consumption trends. Compare their eating patterns at the beginning of the school year to mid-year and end-of-year to see if the garden program is having a lasting effect on their willingness to eat school meals.

This pilot study provides promising preliminary evidence but is not conclusive proof that school garden and nutrition education programs will work in all schools or for all students. Results are based on observation over a short 13-day period and may not reflect long-term changes in eating habits or overall health outcomes. Before implementing major nutrition programs, schools should consult with nutrition professionals and consider their specific community needs. Parents should not use these findings to replace personalized nutrition advice from their child’s healthcare provider. This research is intended to inform further investigation, not to serve as definitive medical or nutritional guidance.