The NSLP is designed to provide school children with nutritionally balanced and affordable lunches to safeguard their health and well-being. The program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Consumer Service, is available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories. The schools participating in the NSLP receive a cash reimbursement for each lunch served. In turn, the schools must serve lunches that meet federal nutritional requirements and offer lunches free or at a reduced price to children from families whose income falls at or below certain levels. For school year 1995-96, the schools were reimbursed $1.795 for each free lunch, $1.395 for each reduced-price lunch, and $0.1725 for each full-price lunch. Furthermore, for each lunch served, the schools receive commodity foods—14.25 cents’ worth in school year 1995-96. The Department provides a billion pounds of commodity foods annually to states for use in the NSLP. States select commodity foods from a list of more than 60 different kinds of food, including fresh, canned, and frozen fruits and vegetables; meats; fruit juices; vegetable shortening and oil; and flour and other grain products. The variety of commodities depends on the quantities available and market prices. According to the Department, federal commodities account for about 20 percent of the food in the school lunch program. Through school year 1995-96, the schools were required to offer lunches that met a “meal pattern” established by the Department. The meal pattern specified that a lunch must include five items—a serving of meat or meat alternate; two or more servings of vegetables and/or fruits; a serving of bread or bread alternate; and a serving of milk. The meal pattern was designed to provide nutrients sufficient to approximate one-third of the National Academy of Sciences’ Recommended Dietary Allowances. Effective school year 1996-97, the schools participating in the program will be required to offer lunches that meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Among other things, these guidelines, which represent the official nutritional policy of the U.S. government, recommend diets that are low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. In meeting these guidelines, the schools may use any reasonable approach, within guidelines established by the Secretary of Agriculture, including using the school meal pattern that was in effect for the 1994-95 school year. All students attending the schools that participate in the NSLP are eligible to receive an NSLP lunch. In fiscal year 1995, about 58 percent of the eligible students participated in the program. About 49 percent of the participating students received free lunches, 7 percent received reduced-price lunches, and 44 percent received full-price lunches. The students who do not participate in the program include those who bring lunch from home, eat off-campus, buy lunch a la carte at school or from a school canteen or vending machine, or do not eat at all. Concerns about plate waste prompted the introduction into the NSLP of the offer versus serve (OVS) option more than a decade ago. Under this option, a school must offer all five food items in the NSLP meal pattern, but a student may decline one or two of them. In a school that does not use this option, a student must take all five items. All high schools must use the OVS option, and middle and elementary schools may offer it at the discretion of local officials. According to a 1993 Department report, 71 percent of the elementary schools and 90 percent of the middle schools use the OVS option. Cafeteria managers varied in the extent to which they perceived plate waste as a problem in their school during the 1995-96 school year. Ninety percent of the managers provided an opinion on plate waste. The majority of those with an opinion did not perceive it as a problem. However, 23 percent of those with an opinion reported that it was at least a moderate problem. Figure 1 presents cafeteria managers’ perceptions of the extent to which plate waste was a problem in their school. By school level, we found some variation in cafeteria managers’ perceptions of plate waste. As figure 2 shows, managers at elementary schools were more likely than those at middle or high schools to report that plate waste from school lunches was at least a moderate problem during the 1995-96 school year. By school location and by schools serving different proportions of free and reduced-price lunches, we found no statistically significant differences in cafeteria managers’ perceptions of plate waste. We also considered the extent to which cafeteria managers perceived plate waste as a problem by asking them to compare the amount of waste from school lunches with the amount of waste from packed lunches from home. Sixty-three percent of the managers were able to make this comparison. Of these, 79 percent believed that the amount from school lunches was less than or the same as the amount from packed lunches. (See fig. 3.) Cafeteria managers reported large variations in the amount of waste from eight different types of food that may be included as part of the school lunch. For each food type, managers reported how much of the portions served, on average, was wasted. On the basis of the managers’ responses, we estimate that the average amount wasted ranged from a high of 42 percent for cooked vegetables to a low of 11 percent for milk. Figure 4 shows our estimate of the average percent of waste for each of the eight food types. By school level, the amount of waste varied for all food types except canned or processed fruits. In general, the waste reported for each food type was highest in the elementary schools and lowest in the high schools. (See fig. 5.) By school location, the amount of waste varied for three food types—cooked vegetables, raw vegetables/salads, and milk. For example, for each of these food types, the urban schools reported more waste than the rural schools. (See fig. 6.) By schools serving different proportions of free and reduced-price lunches, the average amount of waste varied for four food types—raw vegetables/salads, fresh fruits, canned or processed fruits, and milk. (See fig. 7.) When responding to a list of possible reasons for plate waste at their school, the cafeteria managers most frequently selected a nonfood reason—“student attention is more on recess, free time or socializing than eating.” When responding to a list of possible ways to reduce plate waste, the managers most often viewed actions that would involve students, such as letting students select only what they want, as more likely to reduce plate waste than other actions. Seventy-eight percent of the cafeteria managers cited a nonfood reason—students’ attention on recess, free time, or socializing—when asked why students at their school did not eat all of their school lunch. Figure 8 shows the percent of managers who identified each of the nine reasons listed in our survey as either a minor, moderate, or major reason for plate waste in their school. By school level, the percent of managers selecting a reason for plate waste varied for four of the reasons provided in our survey. (See fig. 9.) For example, elementary school managers were much more likely than middle or high school managers to report “amount served is too much for age or gender” as a reason for plate waste. By school location, the percent of cafeteria managers selecting a reason for plate waste varied for four of the reasons provided in our survey. (See fig. 10.) For example, managers at urban schools were more likely than those at suburban and rural schools to report that students “do not like that food” as a reason for plate waste. By schools serving different proportions of free and reduced-price lunches, cafeteria managers’ perceptions differed somewhat for three reasons. For example, managers in schools serving under 30 percent free and reduced-price lunches were more likely than managers in schools serving over 70 percent free and reduced-price lunches to cite “take more than they can eat” as a reason for plate waste. (See fig. 11.) In addition to asking cafeteria managers to respond to a list of possible reasons for plate waste, we asked them to identify the effect on plate waste of the NSLP’s requirements for types of food and serving sizes that were in effect at the time of our survey. The managers believed that, overall, the minimum federal serving sizes provided about the right amount of food for the students at their school. (See fig. 12.) Furthermore, for each of four minimum serving size requirements that were in effect at the time of our survey, most cafeteria managers reported that each requirement did not result in more plate waste at their school. However, two requirements—serving at least three-fourths of a cup of fruits/vegetables daily and serving at least eight servings of breads/grains weekly—were viewed as resulting in more plate waste by about one-third and one-quarter of the managers, respectively. Figure 13 shows the percent of cafeteria managers who reported that the minimum serving sizes for the four requirements resulted in more waste. In addition, we asked cafeteria managers about the potential effect on plate waste of increasing the minimum serving sizes for fruits/vegetables and breads/grains. For fruits/vegetables, 62 percent of the middle and high school managers said that increasing the amount from three-fourths of a cup to one cup daily would cause more waste. For breads/grains, 53 percent of the middle and high school managers said that increasing the number of weekly servings from 8 to 15 would increase plate waste; and 69 percent of the elementary school managers reported that increasing the number of servings of breads/grains from 8 to 12 weekly would cause more plate waste.