Aspects of the school food environment can influence food purchasing and consumption among adolescents, particularly those without access to a school meal program. Our objective was to describe and compare food vendors of junior high schools in Ghana.

We conducted structured observations of food vendors within a 0.25-km radius of 8 junior high schools. We compared foods sold and hygiene practices by vendor and community characteristics, such as on vs off campus location, urban vs rural, and predominant income generating activity of the community. We also assessed the relationship between adolescent diet quality (food group diversity, all-5, NCD-protect, and NCD-risk scores) and procurement method for foods consumed during the school day.

Cape Coast and Elmina, Ghana

200 randomly selected students.

Of 265 identified vendors, 25.3% sold foods on-campus. On-campus vendors were less likely to sell branded snacks (19.4% vs. 33.8%, p=0.001), and beverages (17.9% vs. 35.4%, p=0.008) and more likely to sell prepared dishes (53.7% vs. 31.8%, p=0.001) than off-campus vendors. Vendors practiced an average of 38.8% of applicable food hygiene practices, which did not differ by on- or off- campus location. In the previous month, 59.4% of students most often purchased food on campus. There were no significant relationships between method of food procurement and diet quality.

Many adolescents purchased food at school and there were differences in foods sold by on- and off campus vendors. School policies may be a promising avenue to alter food environments for adolescents.