Issue: A “healthy school meal environment” not only

gives students opportunities to make healthy meal choices

but also encourages them to do so. The extent to which a

healthy school meal environment affects the success of

USDA’s school meals programs is currently a subject of

debate. The policy strategies that can be used to encourage

such an environment for the National School Lunch

Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP)

also are subjects of debate.

Environmental factors considered to be important include:

(1) the nutritional quality, variety, and acceptability of program meals; (2) meal scheduling; (3) nutrition education;

and (4) sales of non-USDA (“competitive”) foods. Other

factors contributing to an overall healthy nutrition environment in the school include a commitment to physical

activity, and promotion of healthy eating and physical

activity. This issue brief reviews information on the first

three of these school meal environment factors. Competitive foods are discussed in a separate issue brief.

Background: In fiscal year 2001, USDA school meals

programs provided more than 6 billion lunches, breakfasts,

and after-school snacks to over 27 million children, at an

annual cost of about $7.9 billion. In 1995, the School

Meals Initiative modernized nutrition standards for these

programs, limiting fat and saturated fat in meals for the

first time. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) 

indicates the fat and saturated-fat content of the average

school lunch has declined since this initiative, but is still

above standards. Concerns about the increase in the number of overweight and obese children in the United States

and the number of children falling short of dietary guidelines have increased interest in the programs.

Program funding covers cash reimbursements to schools

for providing free or reduced-price meals, a small reimbursement for full-price meals, and the value of commodity foods donated by USDA. Besides meeting nutrient 

standards, participating schools must comply with other

regulatory restrictions. These include limits on how early

or how late school lunches may be served, and some limits

on sales of foods of minimal nutritional value during meal

times in participating schools. However, many aspects of

the school meal environment are subject to local control. 

Findings: An Economic Research Service report summarized the following potential improvements to the school

meal environment, and suggested some approaches to

improvement. While these approaches may increase NSLP

quality and/or acceptance, their effects and costs need further study. 

Improving Quality, Variety, and Acceptability of

Program Meals

The more attractive school meals are to children, the more

likely they are to eat them. Of particular importance is

encouraging consumption of fruits, salad, and other vegetables served with the meals. These foods are underconsumed by American children compared with the USDA

Food Guide Pyramid recommendations, and are also the

components of USDA school meals most likely to be discarded uneaten by children (plate waste). ERS reviewed

several strategies for increasing the appeal of school meals

to children. Among the most promising are:

(1) Increasing choices and student input into foodservice decisions. Offering more food choices may

increase acceptance of healthful foods. When Oregon

school nutrition staff developed a “Food Pyramid

Choice Menu” that features six or more fruit and vegetable choices, daily food waste decreased by as much

as 36 percent in participating school districts and students ate more fruits, vegetables, and grains.

“Seek[ing] student opinions regularly about menus”

was the second most frequent recommendation from

cafeteria managers to reduce plate waste in a 1996

General Accounting Office (GAO) survey. Studies

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Economic 

Research

Service

Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Report Number 34-5 July 2003

WIC School

meals

CACPF General

A Healthy School Meal

Environment

Food Assistance Research Brief

Katherine Ralston, kralston@ers.usda.gov, (202) 694-5463

Jean Buzby, jbuzby@ers.usda.gov, (202) 694-5370

Joanne Guthrie, jguthrie@ers.usda.gov, (202) 694-5373
2 Economic Research Service / USDA

A Healthy School Meal Environment / FANRR-34-5

where students participate in menu selection also support this. 

(2) Improving the selection of USDA-donated commodities. The GAO study found that 71 percent of

school cafeteria managers “wanted all or almost all of

the different commodities received,” but wanted greater

quantities and variety. One study found that increasing

the amount of fresh produce made available to schools

decreased plate waste.

(3) Increasing use of produce and local foods, and

improving preparation. Case studies of “farm-toschool” programs suggest that using local fresh foods

increases school meal participation and consumption of

salad and other vegetables, the food categories most

likely to be wasted. USDA initiatives that facilitate

increased produce use include the “farm-to-school” initiative, the Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program, and joint

collaborations with the Department of Defense. 

Research also suggests that instituting food preparation

training programs can improve meal quality, though it

may also increase operating and purchasing costs. 

Improving Scheduling

Meals scheduled before recess encourage students to rush

meals. Several studies, while geographically limited, consistently reported that plate waste was lower when lunch

was scheduled after recess, a result supported by observations of school cafeteria managers (fig. 2). Yet over 40

percent of elementary schools in a national study scheduled recess immediately after lunch (Wechsler et al.) (fig. 1).

Meals served very early or late, long lines, and inadequate

time to eat have also been raised as problems, but there are

no conclusive data on their effects. Forty-two percent of

NSLP cafeteria managers cited children being “not hungry”

as a reason for plate waste in a 1996 GAO survey (fig. 2). 

Figure 1. Few schools have early or late lunch but many 

have recess right after lunch

Elementary: 

All classes have recess 

right after lunch

Elementary: 

All classes have 

recess before lunch

Lunch served after 

1:30 PM

Lunch served after 

1 PM

Lunch starts 

before 10:30 AM

Lunch starts 

before 11 AM

Percent of schools

26.4

12.9

42.4

4.6

2.2

4.5

Source: Wechsler et al., 2001.

Percent of cafeteria managers who cited reasons

Figure 2. Reasons for plate waste cited by cafeteria managers

Attention on recess, free time, socializing

Do not like the food

Not enough time to eat

Do not like the way food looks or tastes

Take more than they can eat

Not hungry

Bring food from home to eat

Student is sick

Amount served is too much for age or gender

78%

65%

50%

44%

43%

42%

37%

31%

18%

Source: GAO's analysis of survey data, July 1996.
Only 20 percent of schools offer less than 20 minutes for

lunch after seating, while time use studies suggest that students spend only 8 minutes actually eating. However, students may avoid long lines even if the time to eat once

seated is adequate. Only 3 percent of cafeterias nationally

were above capacity, but some cafeterias may appear to be

less crowded because students have already found other

meal options.

Providing Effective Nutrition Education 

Several studies show that nutrition education can maintain

participation as nutritional quality of meals improves (e.g.

lower fat offerings). Coordinating nutrition education with

foods offered at school is particularly effective. USDA’s

Team Nutrition program provides technical assistance,

training, and resources, including a tool kit for local action

called Changing the Scene (FNS, 2000). In 1996, the

Team Nutrition Pilot project showed that Team Nutrition

participation increased the skill-based knowledge and

motivation to eat healthier among fourth grade students

and provided positive impacts in the diversity of food

items and food groups tasted (FNS, 1998).

Information Sources:

Buzby, J.C., and J.F. Guthrie, Plate Waste in School Nutrition

Programs: Final Report to Congress, Economic Research Service,

USDA, E-FAN-02-009, March 2002. Available at: http://www.ers.

usda.gov/publications/efan02009

Jean C. Buzby, Joanne F. Guthrie, and Linda S. Kantor, Evaluation of

the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program: Report to Congress,

Economic Research Service, USDA, E-FAN-03-006, April 2003.

Available at: http://www.ers. usda.gov/publications/efan03006

Guthrie, J.F., and J.C. Buzby. “Several Strategies May Lower Plate

Waste in School Feeding Programs.” FoodReview 25(2) (Summer-Fall

2002):36-42.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of

Analysis, Nutrition, and Evaluation (USDA/FNS). Changing the Scene:

Improving the School Nutrition Environment. Alexandria, VA: U.S.

Department of Agriculture, 2000.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of

Analysis, Nutrition, and Evaluation (USDA/FNS). The Story of Team

Nutrition: Pilot Study Outcome Report: Final Report. Prepared by

Prospect Associates and Westat, Contract 53-3198-4-038, Winter 1998.

Wechsler, H., N. Brener, S. Kuester, and C. Miller, “Food Service and

Foods and Beverages Available at School: Results from the School

Health Policies and Programs Study 2000,” Journal of School Health

71(7) (Sept. 2001):313-323.

3 Economic Research Service / USDA

A Healthy School Meal Environment / FANRR-34-5

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex,

religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET

Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue,

SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.