Laura Smith, a researcher at the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, presented the findings of the study "Convenience Drives Choice in School Lunchrooms" at this week's Experimental Biology conference in Anaheim, Calif. 
 
 In a year-long study in an upstate New York middle school, researchers examined the effect of moving the salad bar to a more prominent location in the cafeteria. Results show that sales of certain salad bar items increased by 250-300%. 
 
 "It wasn't a big move," Smith explained. "From its original location against a wall, we moved the salad bar out about four feet, in front of the cash registers." 
 
 "By the end of the year, this even led to 6% more kids eating school lunches," Smith said. "It's basic behavioral economics — we made it easier for them to make the right choice." 
 
 Smith and her colleagues, Professor Brian Wansink and Professor David Just, lead the Smarter Lunchroom Initiative. The initiative focuses on low-cost and no-cost changes that can be made in lunchrooms to subtly guide smarter choices. 
 
 
 
 Provided by Cornell University (news : web) 

 A new study out of Cornell produces bigger results than any food revolution or food-policy change could hope for. 
 
 Lately, Jamie Oliver's become a saint in his quest to change our attitudes towards food. And the White House and Michelle Obama have been flogging the idea of local produce, while making noise about changes in food policy, which gives woefully sums to big corn and red-meat farmers and contributes to making us fat. 
 
 But what if getting kids to eat more veggies is simpler than that? Like, waaaaaay simpler? 
 
 Laura Smith, a researcher at the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, has discovered that simply changing the placement of a middle school's salad bar can cause a spike in veggie consumption. 
 
 What would your guess be on that spike? 15% 25%? 50%? 
 
 Try 250-300%. That's not a typo. 
 
 Smith basically discovered what Sizzler's known for decades. Instead of relegating the salad bar to the wall, she moved it four feet, so that it's in front of the cash registers. (As far as Sizzler is concerned, note that it's more profitable to fill people up on veggies, since they're cheaper and higher margin than steaks.) 
 
 "By the end of the year, this even led to 6% more kids eating school lunches," Smith said. "It's basic behavioral economics. We made it easier for them to make the right choice." 
 
 That, of course, opens up a fat opportunity for architects and designers: You can make people healthier simply by redesigning cafeterias, so that healthier options are easier to access and more prominent -- not to mention, as we previously reported, turning corridors into inviting, creative spaces. Now get to work!
– If educators want kids to eat more veggies at school, they might start with one deceptively easy solution: moving the salad bar. One middle school in New York did so to a more prominent spot and saw a huge increase—as in 250% to 300%—in the consumption of salad bar items, reports PhysOrg. "It wasn't a big move," said one researcher. "From its original location against a wall, we moved the salad bar out about 4 feet, in front of the cash registers." The results caught the attention of Cliff Kuang at Fast Company, who notes that it "opens up a fat opportunity for architects and designers: You can make people healthier simply by redesigning cafeterias, so that healthier options are easier to access and more prominent. Now get to work!"