Temptation at the school fence: a qualitative exploration of the impact of external food outlets on the school community

Retail food outlets are commonly located in close proximity to schools, providing students with opportunities to purchase and consume food enroute to or from school. These outlets are typically unhealthy and disproportionately clustered near schools, and this trend has been increasing over time. While quantitative studies have established associations between school food environments and adolescent dietary behaviours, little is known about how school personnel perceive and experience their impacts. This qualitative study explored perspectives of school personnel (n = 9) from a secondary school in Perth, Western Australia, located 150 m from two retail food precincts (areas with a high concentration of food outlets, such as fast-food outlets, restaurants, cafés, and convenience stores). Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically. School personnel described the nearby outlets as exerting a strong influence on students’ food choices, behaviours, and routines before and after school. Participants reported that nearby outlets increased students’ consumption of unhealthy food and drinks, contributed to classroom disruption, and undermined the school's health promotion efforts. The outlets also influenced the dietary practices of school personnel and increased their workload through the enforcement of school policies concerning external food. Broader community impacts, including loitering and shoplifting, created reputational issues for the school. While employment opportunities were acknowledged, overall sentiment from school personnel was overwhelmingly negative. Participants advocated for planning regulations to restrict the development of food outlets near schools and called for alternative youth-focused community infrastructure. Policy reform to limit outlets near schools, supported by cross-sector collaboration between education, health, and urban planning, is urgently needed to create healthier school food environments.