Food vending marketing and promotion strategies in school environments in Tanzania
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Date
2023-12-26
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The sub Saharan Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities
Abstract
Marketing and consumption of ultra-processed foods have increased across countries in Africa and it is
associated with the risk of childhood obesity. The current school food environment has been reported to contribute to the
increase in obesity rates worldwide; hence a need for increasing attention to the roles of the school environment in changing
children’s dietary behaviour. This study assessed marketing and promotion strategies for foods sold around the school
environments in Tanzania. A cross-sectional study involved 335 parent/caregiver-child pairs from rural and urban settings of
Morogoro region. A stratified sampling technique was used to acquire a sample of children from registered primary schools.
The schools were stratified into districts based on location and sampled separately through a probability sampling technique
whereby, the population of school children in each school was divided into strata based on school ownership and area of
residence. A total of eight schools were sampled with an equal number of private and public schools in each of the locations.
Data on food marketing and promotion strategies were collected from 32 food vendors while information on food availability
and factors influencing purchasing behavior were obtained from the children through structured questions. An observation
checklist was used to collect additional information on food availability and marketing and promotion strategies for foods
sold around the school environment. Data was analyzed using IBM -SPSS) version 21 software. Chi-square was used to test
the difference between foods available in rural and urban school environments. The findings revealed that 60% of foods were
processed in rural compared to urban areas (40%). More ultra-processed foods such as carbonated soft drinks, candies and
ice lollies were identified in the urban (60.8%) than in rural-based schools (39.2%). The most purchased foods around
schools were potato balls (49.4%), ice cream (47.5%), corn snacks (chama) (46.2%), chocolates (43.9%), carbonated soft
drinks (37.3%), candies (36.6%) and sweet ice-lollies (34.4%). The most common marketing and promotion strategies around
schools were posters, price reduction and packaging. Feeling hungry, food price, environment and social pressure were the
factors contributing to food purchasing behaviour for foods sold around schools. Most of the foods consumed around the
schools were ultra-processed and multiple marketing and promotion methods were used. The government through the
Ministry of Education should regulate the types of foods sold in schools and plan for healthier school meals for all students by
strengthening the school feeding program.
Description
Research paper
Keywords
marketing, school environment, children, food choices, ultra-processed foods