Considering the entrenched bureaucratic chaos that surrounds most decisions in the public school system, its surprising to find out that there are simple, local efforts that you can do to help improve your child’s school lunch program.

New research by Brian Wansink of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab suggests that marketing and incentives can help improve dietary patterns, often at little or no cost. Wansink conducted a study funded by the New York Department of Health, which focused on the New York public schools. He found that simple changes, such as better fruit placement (meaning more attractive displays and improved lighting) resulted in a sales increase of 54%. Even more encouraging was that Wansink found when salad bars were moved to a prominent location near cashiers, sales increased between 200 and 300%. It should be noted that the “more attractive displays” Wansink referenced consisted of a cheap wire fruit rack bought at a local discount store and the improved lighting came from borrowing an unused desk lamp from an empty classroom.

In another round of research, Wansink looked at the purchase decisions of children when they were allowed to use credit and debit cards as opposed to cash. According to Wansink’s work, limiting credit and debit card use and requiring children to pay for junk food with cash places a simple constraint on the child. Wansink saw a dramatic increase in the amount of fruit and vegetables purchased when children were required to pay for “junk food” with cash. The author believes that children would much rather use this disposable income to purchase higher-demand items such as music or movie tickets.

While there are millions of ways to improve the school lunch system, its clear that simple, cost-effective changes can have a profound impact on purchase considerations. In the end, this is the most effective way to improve the dietary habits of our nations youth.