School Administrator and Food Vendor Perspectives on Stocking and Promoting Healthier Offerings in Indonesian Primary Schools: Findings from a Pilot Study

TL;DR

This study explores how school canteen owners and administrators in Indonesia decide which foods to stock, focusing on healthier options and children's preferences.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into perceptions of healthier food options in Indonesian primary schools from the perspectives of canteen operators and administrators.

Findings

IndoMilk was perceived as the most feasible and appealing healthier option for canteens.

Children's taste preferences, affordability, and visual appeal strongly influence canteen stocking decisions.

Some traditional foods like gethuk and polo pendem were seen as less appealing and less likely to be sold.

Abstract

Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue?
Childhood overweight and obesity is an increasing public health concern in Indonesia, and school canteens represent a primary food environment for many school-aged children.Decisions made by canteen owners and school administrators directly shape the nutritional quality of foods and beverages available to children during the school day.

Childhood overweight and obesity is an increasing public health concern in Indonesia, and school canteens represent a primary food environment for many school-aged children.

Decisions made by canteen owners and school administrators directly shape the nutritional quality of foods and beverages available to children during the school day.

Public health significance—Why is this work of significance to public health?
This pilot study provides novel insights into canteen owners’ and school administrators’ perceptions of the acceptability and feasibility of stocking healthier, locally available foods and beverages.Children’s taste preferences, affordability, visual appeal, perceived nutrition, and profitability emerged as key factors influencing canteen stocking decisions in both urban and rural primary schools.

This pilot study provides novel insights into canteen owners’ and school administrators’ perceptions of the acceptability and feasibility of stocking healthier, locally available foods and beverages.

Children’s taste preferences, affordability, visual appeal, perceived nutrition, and profitability emerged as key factors influencing canteen stocking decisions in both urban and rural primary schools.

Public health implications—What are the key implications or messages for practitioners, policy makers and/or researchers in public health?
Future strategies to improve school food environments should account for children’s preferences as well as the economic and operational constraints faced by canteen operators.Introducing healthier options that align with existing taste preferences and canteen practices may support more feasible, acceptable, and sustainable school-based nutrition interventions.

Future strategies to improve school food environments should account for children’s preferences as well as the economic and operational constraints faced by canteen operators.

Introducing healthier options that align with existing taste preferences and canteen practices may support more feasible, acceptable, and sustainable school-based nutrition interventions.

Childhood overweight and obesity is a growing public health challenge in Indonesia, affecting approximately one in five school-aged children. Because children spend substantial time at school and frequently obtain meals and snacks from on-site canteens, these settings represent an important opportunity for nutrition-focused interventions. As an initial step towards understanding factors influencing canteen stocking decisions, we assessed perceived taste, acceptability, and feasibility of healthier local foods and beverages from the perspectives of canteen owners and school administrators (n = 10) across five primary schools (n = 2 urban, n = 3 rural) in Magelang, Indonesia. Participants completed in-person taste tests of selected food and beverage options and participated in in-depth interviews exploring drivers of stocking decisions. IndoMilk (multi-cereal, reduced-sugar dairy beverage) received the most favorable taste ratings and was perceived as the most feasible option to sell, followed by sate telur puyuh (braised quail eggs) and sate buah (fresh fruit skewers). In contrast, gethuk (cassava/coconut cake) and polo pendem (steamed tubers with boiled peanuts) were viewed as less appealing to children and unlikely to be sold. Participants identified children’s taste preferences, affordability, visual appeal, and profitability as key considerations influencing stocking decisions, while perceptions of nutrition varied. Findings from this pilot study highlight contextual factors shaping school canteen food environments and may inform future interventions aimed at introducing healthier options while accounting for children’s preferences and canteen operational constraints.