Abstract

School foodservice customers are likely to be tired of repeated cycle menus and their satisfaction for meals offered in school is inclined to be low. The menu variety is an important factor in increasing customer satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to investigate customer perspectives for applying rice based bread menus in order to add menu variety and promote using rice processed products in school foodservice. The questionnaire was distributed to 760 parent samples in elementary schools and 520 student samples in middle/high schools and a total of 665 and 387 usable data were collected, respectively. Food habits such as preference for cooking method, menu preference, food allergy and nutritional perspectives for menu and customer perception for rice based bread like quality, reliability, price, and purchasing convenience were investigated using 7 Likert scale. Also expected menu types applying rice based bread and offering frequency of rice bread menu were examined. Preference level for bread-based meals were moderate and students' preferences were slightly higher than parents. Menu types applying rice bread expected by middle/high school students were western food (49.4%), spaghetti (28.4%), set menu (13.7%), noodle (17.6%), Korean food (11.1%), Chinese food (10.9%) and porridge (4.5%). The most occupied rate was once in a week for expected offering frequency. Most respondents perceived that rice bread was more nutritive and qualitative than the wheat based one.

• Keywords: school foodservice; rice based bread; preference for cooking method; menu preference; food allergy