Teachers’ reported experiences with the Food Education and Sustainability Training (FEAST) program: a process evaluation of FEAST

Healthy and sustainable food education initiatives in primary schools are gaining momentum in research and practice. OzHarvest’s Food Education and Sustainability Training (FEAST) is one such program which aims to increase children’s fruit and vegetable intake and reduce their food waste behaviours. This study aimed to analyse teachers’ experiences with the FEAST program, including their perceptions about the program’s impact on children’s fruit and vegetable consumption and food waste behaviours. It further sought to determine if teacher perceptions are associated with school sector (government / non-government), rurality, size and socio-educational advantage (a scale of advantage calculated for each school). Primary school teachers who implemented FEAST with their students between 2021 and 2023 were invited to participate in a post-implementation teacher survey with closed- and open-ended questions. Data was collected about program reach and teacher perceptions about program effectiveness, implementation, intentions for maintenance, satisfaction and impact. Statistical analyses were conducted using STATA. Descriptive statistics were generated for all variables and chi-square analyses, Kruskal-Wallis tests, t-tests and pairwise correlations were used to determine associations with school sector, rurality, size and socio-educational advantage. Responses to open-ended questions were analysed using conceptual content analysis in NVivo 15. Participants were 48 primary school teachers from 44 schools across Australia. FEAST was largely implemented as intended, though only 51.1% of teachers created a class cookbook, and this was associated with school-level socio-educational advantage. No other school characteristics were associated with any other variables measured. Teachers reported high levels of program satisfaction and considered program resources and training to be effective. Most teachers reported their students’ food waste behaviours decreased by 5–20%. Only 55.5% and 33.3% agreed their students ate more fruit and vegetables and less ‘junk’ food respectively since completing FEAST. The FEAST program is well received by primary school teachers as an effective mechanism for delivering healthy and sustainable food education. Findings from this study can support ongoing quality improvement of FEAST and other healthy and sustainable food education initiatives around the world to increase their uptake and impact on population and planetary health.