Accuracy and reliability of direct observations of home-packed lunches in elementary schools by trained nutrition students.

Increased attention has been directed toward the school food environment because children consume important contributions toward their daily food intake while at school. In Canada, most elementary school students bring a lunch to school and there are minimal data on the composition and consumption of these lunches. Dietary assessment of home-packed lunches is challenging compared with assessment of standardized school meals due to greater diversity of items, nonstandard portions, and opaque containers.