A Study on Parents' Satisfaction with School Foodservice by Foodservice Monitoring Participation

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to compare parents' satisfaction with school foodservice between participants and non-participants of foodservice monitoring. Surveys were conducted in six schools that implemented foodservice monitoring. In these schools, 126 participants and 167 non-participants were surveyed. The results were as follows The participant group was more satisfied with taste (participation 3.63, non-participation 3.20), quantity (participation 3.69, non-participation 3.20), and menu composition (participation 3.67, non-participation 3.16) than the non-participant group. In addition, the satisfaction level of the participant group (3.74) was significantly higher than that of the non-participant group (3.24) (p<0.01). It was also indicated that the overall level of trust toward the foodservice operation was significantly higher in the participant group (3.90) than in the non-participant group (3.32) (p<0.001). After participating in monitoring, 74.8% of the parents changed their perception on school foodservice and 84.7% of them became to have more positive views. In conclusion, we found that parents' participation in school foodservice monitoring had positive effects on their satisfaction and perceptions on school foodservice.