Issue: USDA school meal programs represent a significant Federal investment, at a cost of almost $8 billion in

2001. More than 27 million children are served school

meals annually, making USDA school meals programs a

logical place to look for action to improve children’s diets.

It has been argued that improving the nutritional quality of

school meals will raise costs, and therefore increasing

USDA school meal reimbursement levels is necessary for

that improvement to occur. However, the relationship of

school meal costs to success in achieving program outcomes—that is, serving healthful appealing meals that are

well-consumed by children—has never been thoroughly

investigated. Previous USDA studies of the school meal

programs such as the National Evaluation of School

Nutrition Programs (NESNP), conducted in school year

1980-81, and School Nutrition Dietary Assessment–I

(SNDA-I), conducted in 1991-92, have examined important outcome measures such as participation and dietary

intakes. Costs of school meals were also examined in a

separate study conducted in school year 1992-93.

However, these studies predate important changes in

school meal nutrition standards. Moreover, separate collection of data on costs and outcomes did not allow exploration of the relationship between outcomes and costs.

Background: With child obesity soaring and the juvenile

incidence of diabetes and hypertension also on the rise in

the United States, there is strong policy interest in the

potential of USDA school meals to promote healthy diets

and weights. Since 1995, school meals have been required

to meet limits for fat and saturated-fat content. The most

recent study of school meals offered to children indicates

that average fat and saturated-fat content of school lunches

has decreased, but still exceeds standards. Moreover,

healthful foods such as fruits and green vegetables may be

more likely to go uneaten by students.

In 1995, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)

launched the School Meal Initiative (SMI), amending

school meal regulations to require that meals contain no

more than 30 percent calories from fat and 10 percent

calories from saturated fat. The potential cost of these

changes raised widespread concern, with USDA receiving

more than 5,500 comments on the subject when the 1995

regulations were proposed. Although a pilot study by FNS

indicated schools could produce lunches that met the new

standards at costs comparable to or lower than those of an

old-style lunch, concerns have persisted. 

Findings: The effects of SMI on program outcomes and

costs have only been partially examined to date. The SMI

Implementation Study, conducted by FNS, found that 80

percent of a nationally representative sample of school districts reported increased food costs following SMI implementation. The study did not, however, provide sufficient

information to determine the proportion of food cost

increases attributable to SMI implementation versus normal changes in food costs over time. 

The School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study-II

(SNDA-II) examined menus from a nationally representative sample of schools. Results indicated progress in

reducing fat and saturated-fat content of meals, but fewer

than one-quarter of schools served lunches that met either

standard. Schools were more successful at breakfast time,

with the majority serving breakfasts that met the fat and

saturated-fat standards. 

These results tell us what schools serve children, but not

how much meals cost or what children actually eat. Thus,

we cannot tell whether school meals that met the standards

cost more or were well-accepted by children. Ultimately,

program success requires not only that meals be nutritious

but that children eat them. Unfortunately, nutritious foods

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Economic 

Research

Service

Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Report Number 34-6 July 2003

WIC School

meals

CACPF General

Do Healthy School Meals 

Cost More?

Food Assistance Research Brief

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

Do Healthy School Meals Cost More? / FANRR-34-6

like fruits and green vegetables are most likely to go

uneaten by children. 

Innovations to promote acceptance may increase costs

beyond simply modifying existing menus to meet SMI

requirements. Without knowing the relationship of cost to

both the quality of meals offered to children and their ultimate dietary intakes, we cannot know the extent to which

menu improvements are having the desired effects of

improving children’s diets and health and whether cost is a

barrier to improvement. 

Summary: The basic questions of interest—How well are

school meals achieving their intended nutrition outcomes?

How much do they cost? What is the relationship of outcomes to cost?—can only be answered by an integrated

study of school meal program operations, costs and outcomes. USDA has previously fielded studies of both outcomes and costs, but has never collected these data as part

of a unified design and sampling plan, allowing the information to be combined to fully answer these questions of

compelling policy interest. An integrated study would

allow an unprecedented level of analysis of the relationship of key operating characteristics, costs, and outcomes—with outcomes including both quality of meals

offered and students’ participation and consumption. 

As a first step to developing an integrated study, the

USDA-Economic Research Service has contracted with

Abt Associates Inc., and Mathematica Policy Research

Inc., to design an integrated study of USDA school meal

programs and to assess the cost and feasibility of such a

study. The design study is scheduled for completion in

summer of 2003.

Information Sources:

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

(USDA/FNS). The National Evaluation of School Nutrition Programs:

Final Report. Wellisch, J.B., S.D. Hanes, L.A. Jordan, K.M. Maurer

and J.A. Vermeersch. Alexandria, VA, 1983.

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

School Meals Initiative Implementation Study: First Year Report. S.

Abraham, M. Chattopadhyay, C. Sullivan, L. Mallory, and D.M. Steiger

of The Gallup Organization and L. Daft, A. Arcos, and B. Wilbraham of

PROMAR International, Oct. 2000.

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

(USDA/FNS). School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study: Summary of

Findings. Burghardt, J. and B. Devaney. Alexandria, VA, 1993.

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

(USDA/FNS). School Lunch and Breakfast Cost Study: Summary of

Findings. F.B. Glantz, C.Logan, H.M.Weiner, M. Battaglia, and E.

Gorowitz Project Officer, J.Endahl. Alexandria, VA,1994.

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

Analysis, Nutrition, and Evaluation. School Nutrition Dietary

Assessment Study-II: Summary of Findings. M.K. Fox, M.K. Crepinsek,

P. Connor, and M. Battaglia, Project Officer, P. McKinney. Alexandria,

VA, Jan. 2001.

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