They may be referring to the research of Brian Wansink, who was exposed a few years ago for at the very least shoddy research practices and at worst active data manipulation [1, 2]. A large body of his work centered around how to rearrange school lunchrooms to promote better dietary decisions. His advice quite literally includes placing health food first [3].

[1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-cornell-scientists-downfall-1...

[2] https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemlee/who-reall...

[3] http://www.brianwansink.com/for-school-lunches.html