Two thirds of respondents (67%) felt state agencies were best poised to deliver school food procurement training, with 12% preferring a federal agency, and 11% the school district itself. Just 5% (combined) felt universities or nonprofits were the best training facilitators. Staff from urban school districts found instructor skill set more important (48%) than rural districts (38%), but valued connecting with peer districts less (23% to 32%). Nutrition staff preferred real-life projects (41%) compared to school business staff (26%), while business staff preferred concrete tools at a greater level than overall (64%). Staff from school districts with more than 20,000 students preferred live trainings over other types of trainings (67%) compared to just 39% of respondents from school districts with under 1,000 students. More respondents from urban school districts preferred virtual trainings (32%) than rural school districts (23%). And though 9% of respondents overall wanted pre-recorded videos, 14% of small SFAs did. This dynamic suggests that the smallest SFAs may find themselves strapped for time to attend trainings or may find it too hard to travel to in-person trainings, preferring self-study and virtual options. Additionally, coupling this with the budget constraints, many may not be able to attend if they are the only person running their school’s nutrition program. Tight budgets also have an impact on the technology and tools available for staff to receive training. One respondent from a small school district shared that they are unable to attend virtual trainings during work hours because “my work computer doesn’t have any speakers, so I have to do my training from my home computer.” Meanwhile, larger school districts might have more staff on-site and proximity to more in-person training options.
Figure 7. Most Important Elements of Training
Most Important Elements of Training 0% 40% 20% 60% 10% 50% 30% 70%
80%
90% 100%
Tools and resources (templates, guides) shared with you
34.5%
22.9%
19.0% 14.0% 9.7%
Dedicated capacity, experience, and skill set of instructors
16.2%
26.0%
23.3%
21.8%
12.8%
Opportunity to work on a real-life, hands-on project with direct feedback
19.5%
19.7%
18.8%
19.7%
22.2%
Credibility of the organization providing the training
17.4%
14.8% 18.4%
20.0%
29.5%
Opportunities to connect with peers from other school districts
12.5% 16.6%
20.6%
24.6%
25.8%
1
2
3
4
5
Ranking (1 is highest)
20 Procuring Good Food at School: From Contracts to Lunch Trays |
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