In a study of 16 randomly selected schools in St. Paul, Minnesota , the authors discovered a negative correlation between à la carte lines, vending machine use, and fruit and vegetable consumption. On average, students from schools without an à la carte line consumed nearly an entire serving more of fruit and vegetables than did students with such programs.

Furthermore, students from all schools exceeded the daily USDA recommended calories from saturated fat, and students from schools with à la carte lines exceeded the recommendations by 1 percent more, on average.

Concerning snack vending machines, the authors determined that with each vending machine present, "students' mean intake of fruit servings decreased by 11 percent.

A challenge for schools that take part in the NSLP is the rising costs of producing lunch. According to the School Lunch and Breakfast Cost Study SLBCS , one in four school districts reported costs for school lunches above the program reimbursement rate. The additional cost must then be supplemented by school district general funds, and this puts a strain on school district budgets.

Additional costs also make it difficult to meet federally mandated nutrition requirements because using the best palatable foods for students becomes too expensive. According to the USDA report on the NSLP, "other sources of increasing costs include increases in health care costs for employees and, more recently, rising food costs.

This method of cost adjustment leaves either the school district or paying students to bear the burden of the price increase.

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Bibliography Truman Day Harry S Truman Building Truman Dam and Reservoir Harry S. Truman Scholarship Truman Sports Complex U. A facilitator recorded each conversation. The students attended schools across the district and were all members of the Student Health Advisory Council, an established group that meets once per month to discuss student mental and physical health as well as general well-being.

The second conversation, which was held online on May 11, , included adults—a combination of parents, teachers, and school lunch administrators from K schools across the district. The district views accessible meals as a basic component of school structure: If education is compulsory, then meals should be provided.

However, once the district implemented universal meals, her child chose to eat at school. At their core, no-cost meals show students that educators care about what happens to them, inside and outside the classroom. One major theme of the community conversations was the quality and variety of food at school, as well as the lack of student voice in developing menus.

Diversity of meal options makes food more accessible and serves as an opportunity to expose students to nutrition education and a wider variety of foods they may enjoy.

Students described feeling tired of the two-week menu rotation, with some saying that their favorite meals are served less often, and meals they do not enjoy are offered frequently. Students were also vocal about their concerns surrounding available meat alternatives, with several sharing their personal experiences trying to find meatless options that made them feel full and satisfied.

The consequence of this lack of meal variety is that some students refuse to eat. During the pandemic, Greeley-Evans moved to an in-class meals service model at some of its schools to minimize large-group interactions in the cafeteria.

School administrators then noticed that many students were taking the food but throwing it away. Other schools across the country have reported similar findings; feeding kids for free is pointless if they do not eat the food. To promote meal choice, school administrators mentioned that Greeley-Evans food service staff hope to switch to a four-week meal rotation schedule this fall, giving students a wider variety of meals over a longer period of time before the cycle repeats.

Both specifically brought up the idea of having culturally themed lunches during the holiday season. School staff can attest to the power of culturally engaging food options. In the Greeley-Evans School District, students have frequently requested food items such as pupusas, tostadas, empanadas, and menudo instead of—or in addition to—the standard American fare offered almost every day, such as hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and grilled cheese sandwiches.

One school administrator discussed serving students pupusas, a dish served in Salvadoran cuisine. Students also believed that the quality and freshness of food had worsened since the onset of the pandemic. I saw more healthier things, and then after COVID it turned to hot wings, chicken nuggets, burgers, hot dogs, and all those processed [foods].

While the students understood that prepackaged, individually wrapped food items were safer to prepare and serve during the pandemic, this ultimately alienated several of them from school meals, especially breakfast.

Adult participants recognized this issue as well. Like most districts across the country, Greeley-Evans has struggled with labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and rising food and equipment costs. We have to meet certain nutritional standards.

Sugar content, sodium content—they have to be low, but we have to have a certain amount of grains and meat or meat alternatives and things like that. Despite these challenges, school food service staff and other school community members remain committed to serving students food they like to eat and elevating student voice in meal planning.

A student also suggested that middle schoolers and high schoolers could be given opportunities to earn community service hours by helping the district make fresh meals from scratch.

The final theme of the community conversations was the food service delivery system itself. Students and school staff alike praised the multitude of breakfast delivery options, but they voiced concern over short lunch periods and small portion sizes.

Both focus groups brought up the importance of making breakfast more accessible to students. Adults more frequently mentioned the high participation rates associated with bringing breakfast items directly to classrooms, a practice most common in elementary schools.

You get high numbers with that. Like in middle and elementary school, breakfast was just not a thing. But during COVID was the year that we actually started having a breakfast option.

Both conversation groups mentioned the struggles associated with short, hurried lunch periods. High school students decried the long lines that took precious time away from eating, while kitchen workers reported feeling overwhelmed with rapidly serving high numbers of students as well as the quick turnaround time between lunch periods.

An elementary school teacher commented:. I wonder about the pressure on our staff being impacted by the schedule that we have for lunch, how fast we are getting groups of kids through lunch. I cannot imagine the stress.

The kitchen staff involved in the conversation all agreed with this assessment, and one kitchen specialist shared her own story:. I do work in a middle and high school now, but I have been in that elementary environment. Lord knows the kitchen staff would appreciate just a skosh more time. Almost every student mentioned that the portion sizes were too small and that they often felt that they did not have the funds to pay for a second portion.

Teachers added that if students are still hungry after lunch, their ability to learn is negatively affected; they are less able to pay attention and are often tired or sluggish. Many studies have found that students who do not have enough to eat during the day have worse learning outcomes, with disproportionate impacts for students who have compounding forms of stress in school or at home that may make them feel out of control.

Increasing portion sizes and allowing students to return for more food if they are still hungry would empower students and secure their sense of dignity.

Many Greeley-Evans school leaders recognize this reality and made second portions available even prior to the start of the pandemic. An elementary school teacher explained:. Allowing students to feel like they have the ability to choose whether they eat at school and how much they eat—without shame or guilt—gives them confidence that they can carry into other aspects of their education.

These meaningful community conversations shed light on a variety of ongoing challenges and opportunities related to school meal programming.

The following recommendations present ideas for making meals more accessible at the school and district levels, as well as a central framework for establishing a national system of no-cost school meals at the federal level.

Although many schools are limited in what they can offer due to ongoing supply chain disruptions and rising food costs, 18 menu variety is an essential consideration for students eating meals at school. Students in Greeley-Evans specifically requested more meat alternatives, culturally relevant food items, and menu rotation periods that are longer than two weeks.

And while the students did not mention this, providing meals accessible to people with different levels of dietary restrictions—due to chronic conditions, for example—is essential to creating comprehensive menus. Furthermore, students and school staff alike brought up the importance of giving students opportunities to participate in the menu-setting process.

Avenues for including student input in school meal systems could include online feedback forms, physical suggestion boxes, student advisory groups, and social media campaigns such as the Elevate Student Voice in School Meals Campaign organized by District of Columbia Public Schools.

Schools and districts should take advantage of grant programs, such as the U. These connections support local economies and help minimize many challenges associated with the food supply chain, such as long-haul transportation. Without expanded support from state and federal governments, however, rising food costs and labor shortages will continue to impede school food operations.

Multiple students brought up the positive differences that alternative breakfast delivery models have made in their lives. Grab-and-go kiosks in the hallways, second-chance breakfast, and breakfast in the classroom are three proven methods that schools and districts should pursue to expand access to food and ultimately promote better learning conditions in the classroom.

Educators, food service staff, and students all lamented the negative impacts of the lunchtime rush on school meal participation, eating time, and student and staff stress levels. At least 20 minutes of seated eating time is linked with better student nutrition, 26 as well as fostering a stronger sense of belonging among students.

schools surveyed in the School Pulse Panel reported being understaffed when it came to food and nutrition service workers, especially in schools located in the Midwest and the West.

Although scheduling regulations are strict in many states, 30 schools and districts should work within existing requirements to provide more time for serving and eating lunch, as well as advocate for state support in hiring and retaining food service workers.

In the short term, some schools have been forced to hire students to serve lunch or to order takeout from local restaurants to cover gaps. School meal portion sizes were a major theme in the community conversation with students, many of whom wished they had the option to ask for more food on their trays or return for second helpings.

While several food workers in the adult community conversation expressed their willingness to give students extra helpings upon request, students may be uncertain about the rules and apprehensive about being denied more servings. Schools and districts should make second portions available to hungry students, especially when it comes to serving fruits and vegetables.

Additionally, information on school serving policies should be clearly and consistently distributed to students and families to raise awareness and minimize confusion.

A few students suggested that cafeterias could be set up with buffet-style tables where they can serve themselves, similar to university dining halls.

While this may not be feasible given the USDA nutrition guidelines and school capacity, Greeley-Evans does offer a self-serve salad bar option that all students in its schools can visit. The most effective and equitable solution to food insecurity at school is for the federal government to eliminate eligibility and pricing requirements for free school meals and reimburse schools for the full cost of providing every meal they serve.

Although a limited number of states have already implemented no-cost school meal programs, these initiatives are ultimately constrained by federal requirements. Students at most schools are still required to complete meal application forms so that the federal government will reimburse their state at three separate rates of pricing—free meals, reduced-price meals, and fully family-funded meals.

The federal government should consider the Universal School Meals Program Act a blueprint for implementing free school meals for every student. Bernie Sanders I-VT and Rep. Ilhan Omar D-MN , would enable every child in a federally funded school to receive hot breakfast and lunch at no cost.

Additionally, the act would raise the federal reimbursement rate for school meals to address higher food costs, as well as offer additional incentives for schools that get food from locally grown sources.

Opponents of free school meals often argue for a more incremental approach than simply eliminating eligibility and pricing requirements—for example, slowly but steadily expanding the Community Eligibility Provision CEP to include more high-need schools.

No-cost meals are also politically popular: Support for these programs among American adults ranges between 63 percent and 86 percent in surveys from the Food Research and Action Center, 38 the Urban Institute, 39 and the National Parents Union.

In FY , the first full year of the pandemic, the program provided 2. In FY , the program provided 4. In FY , These waivers, along with most other Child Nutrition Program waivers, expired in the summer of The reintroduction of prices for some students may have increased hardship at a time when many households were still struggling with the economic consequences of the pandemic and its aftermath, such as rising inflation.

A USDA, Economic Research Service ERS report found that nearly a third of households with school-aged children that paid for school meals in December reported that doing so made it difficult for them to pay for other usual expenses.

To learn more, please see:. A USDA, ERS-sponsored study found that children from food-insecure and marginally food-secure households were more likely to eat school meals and received more of their food and nutrient intake from school meals than did other children.

To learn more about the impact of NSLP on food insecurity, please see:. Meals served through NSLP must meet Federal nutrition standards, which were updated in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of HHFKA to more closely match the Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The legislation also authorized an additional payment per meal 7 cents as of the —22 school year to schools when they demonstrated that they were serving meals that met the updated standards and established new regulations for meal prices charged to students not certified for free or reduced-price meals.

In response to concerns about the role of the school meal environment in children's diets and other issues, the HHFKA also established updated nutrition standards for non-USDA foods sold in schools often called "competitive foods" participating in USDA's school meal programs.

The HHFKA also created the Community Eligibility Provision CEP , an option that allows high-poverty schools to offer free meals to all students.

To learn more about CEP, please see:. USDA also encourages school districts and their school food authorities—which administer the NSLP at the local level—to use locally produced foods in school meals and to use "farm-to-school" activities to spark students' interest in trying new foods. A USDA, FNS survey of school food authorities in the —19 school year found that about two-thirds participated in farm-to-school activities.

To learn more about the characteristics of school districts likely to serve local foods, please see:. All figures are based on data available as of January and are subject to revision. For information on updates to the program during the COVID pandemic, see FNS Responds to COVID Additional studies and information about program eligibility requirements, benefits, and application processes are available from the Food and Nutrition Service Child Nutrition Programs web page.

Embed this chart Download larger size chart pixels by , dpi. Skip to navigation Skip to main content. Students with known food allergies shellfish, tree nuts, gluten, lactose, etc. must have a formal notice of their allergies from a doctor and submitted to the school nurse.

Students who would like to purchase food from the cafeteria can have accommodations made that are suited to their allergies.

Meal payments may be made via credit card using the LINQ Connect portal. On-site payments and prepayments may be made using cash or check. Each student is assigned a unique, 6-digit cafeteria PIN, which cashiers can look if a student forgets. This PIN allows HCPSS to receive reimbursements from the National School Lunch Program.

If a student forgets or does not have lunch, HCPSS practice is to ensure that no student goes hungry or is traumatized for lack of funds. More information is provided in Board of Education Policy Meal Charges.

The HCPSS participates in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. Students from households that meet federal income guidelines are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals.

Learn more and apply for Free and Reduced Meals. Answers to frequently-asked-questions about HCPSS meals and Food Services can be found on the HCPSS Help website. We value feedback from parents and community members on meal choices, nutrition and wellness, and many other topics to improve our services.

Food and Nutrition Services Feedback Form. Food Services Menus Meal Prices Free and Reduced Meals Nutritional Wellness Commitment to Quality HCPSS proudly serves more than 5.