Use Multiple Types of Food Service Guidelines Data for Your Outcome Evaluation

Several types of available data may be useful in evaluating food service guidelines.

• Procurement data refers to foods purchased or ordered for a facility or program.
• Point-of-sale data refers to the sales records of foods sold to consumers.
• Menu data refers to the menu rotations at a facility.
• Production data refers to the quantitative records of foods prepared or served, such as, the number of trays served of an entrée or side dish.
• Point-in-time assessments or surveys are ad-hoc measures taken on a sample of days. These data include an assessment of foods distributed at a food pantry on a given day, foods served at a church meal, foods served at an afterschool setting on a sample of days. These data can be used when other types of data are not available.

The availability and relevance of these data types for your evaluation will vary according to setting type.