Volume 9 — July 05, 2012
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Observations of Drinking Water Access in School Food Service Areas Before Implementation of Federal and State School Water Policy, California, 2011
| School Type | No. (%) of Students Accessing Water Delivery System | |
|---|---|---|
| Fountain | Othera | |
| Primary | 246 (10.7) | NA |
| Middle/junior high | 72 (3.7) | 116 (8.2) |
| High | 24 (0.7) | 22 (1.1) |
Figure 1. Percentage of students (n = 11,226) observed
drinking free water at lunch, by school type and water delivery system, Bay
Area, California, 2011. The percentage of students drinking water at lunch was
obtained by counting the number of students who drank water in the food service
area divided by the total daily student attendance. There were no nonfountain
sources of drinking water in primary schools. The percentage of middle school
students who drank water from a fountain source was significantly lower than the
percentage of students who drank water from a nonfountain source (P =
.04). This difference was not significant among high school students (P =
.09). The percentage of students drinking water at lunch was higher when water
was available via a delivery system other than a drinking fountain (eg, water
dispenser with cups).
Abbreviation: NA, not applicable.
a Includes hydration stations, dispensers, and coolers.
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