Doctoral Dissertation Research: Labor, Technology, and the Remaking of the National School Lunch Program

本论文研究将对三个州的餐饮服务劳动力进行比较研究。定性数据将通过深入的半结构化访谈和参与者观察在以下地区收集：(1)路易斯安那州，该州在其学校有很强的即食烹饪传统；(2)罗德岛州，其学校食品计划几乎完全外包给餐饮服务管理公司；(3)明尼苏达州，该州最近完成了一项为期两年的全州范围内的计划，旨在重新培训和重组学校餐饮服务员工，使其能够采购、烹饪和晋升？REAL？食物。鉴于2010年《健康无饥饿儿童法案》带来的监管变化，这项研究有可能为当前的学校食品改革提供参考。这项研究的结果将对学校食品专业人员、州和地区规划者、政策分析师、非营利组织、工会和企业有价值，因为他们正在梳理改善学校食品和地方经济的优先事项和战略。这项研究将突出学校食品既为当地居民提供高质量的工作机会，又为儿童提供高质量食品的实例，同时仍在NSLP现有的财务和法律限制下运营。

This dissertation research will engage in a comparative study of foodservice labor in three states. Qualitative data will be collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and participant observation in (1) Louisiana, which has a strong statewide tradition of scratch cooking in its schools, (2) Rhode Island, which has almost entirely outsourced its school food programs to foodservice management companies, and (3) Minnesota, which has recently completed a two-year state-wide program to reskill and retool school foodservice employees to be able to source, cook, and promote ?real? foods. This study has the potential to inform current school food reforms in light of the regulatory changes ushered in by the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010. The results of this study will be of value to school food professionals, state and regional planners, policy analysts, non-profits, labor unions, and businesses as they sort through priorities and strategies for improving both school food and local economies. The study will highlight instances where school food provides both high quality jobs for local residents and high quality food for children, while still operating under the existing financial and legal constraints of the NSLP.