School Food Service Satisfaction and Menu Preferences of High School Students: Focused on Iksan, Cheonbuk

Lee, Kyung Hwa; Park, Eun Sook

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate school food service satisfaction and menu preferences of high school students in Iksan, Cheonbuk area. Self-administered questionnaires were completed by 692 high school students. Data was analyzed by SPSS 11.5 statistical software. Significant differences between genders were tested by the chi-square-test or t-test. The mean satisfaction score with school food service were 2.8 points out of 5 points. The satisfaction scores for menu (2.8 points) and food temperature (3.1 points) were low, but satisfaction with hygiene and facilities (2.7 points) and service (2.6 points) were lowest. The reason that high school students left food was 'the food taste is not good' (65.3%). The school food service areas needing improvement according to the subjects were food taste (39.3%), hygiene (24.3%). The mean score for menu preference was 3.7 points. The highest menu preference menu for the rice category was stir-fried rice (bokeumbap), for the soup was meat soup, for the kimchi was Korean cabbage kimchi. Based on the results we made the following suggestions: To increase the satisfaction with school food service, changes in the school food service policies are needed at the government and school levels. Efforts should be made to improve the taste of school food. The school food service menu should be improved by taking into account the preferences of the users. There is also a need for the development of nutrition programs like nutrition consulting linking students and family, and nutrition camps that will encourage correct dietary habits.