SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE QUALITY : A quantitative study about Food Service Professionals’ and parents’ expectations

Sammanfattning: Background School meals have been seen to promote healthy dietary habits and social equality, in children, if parents are involved. The positive effects in the design of a sustainable school food service system come from a two-way communication between Food Service Professionals (FSP), and parents.  Objective The purpose of the study was to compare what aspects of the school meal FSP, and parents find important, and to see if there are differences, or similarities, that could have implications for how service quality is perceived (by the parents). Method Web-based questionnaire completed by 227 FSP, and 153 parents for children 6-16 years old. Individuals’ expectations were explored using a Food Service Quality Index. Groups were compared with Mann‐Whitney U‐test, and Chi2-test with a set significance level of p-value <0.05. Results High expectations were reported on the Servicescape (physical meal setting), and the Service meeting, by both the FSP, and the parents. The school canteen atmosphere, and a welcoming attitude was rated as extremely important, by both the FSP, and the parents. Expectations on school food service quality were high among parents with high education. Comments from the respondents were primary related to normative values about food quality, and culinary aspects.  Conclusion The expectations were related to hospitality and service, in the Servicescape, with an “inviting school canteen”, “to feel welcome”, and “to answer children’s questions” in the school canteen, for the majority of the FSP and the parents. The findings of this study suggest future research in how cooperation with parents could be implemented through parental representations in school food councils, and digital platforms.