Hundreds of U.S. school districts have reduced hours and enacted layoffs for foodservice staff since the National School Lunch Program standards were implemented in 2012, according to the School Nutrition Association’s 2015 School Nutrition Trends Survey.
“School nutrition standards have resulted in many positive changes, but we cannot ignore the repercussions—the financial impact of these rules threatens school meal programs and their efforts to better serve students,” said Jean Ronnei, SNA president, in a statement. “To ensure programs remain financially sustainable for the children they serve, Congress must provide more funding and reasonable flexibility under the most stringent rules.”
The survey—conducted with SNA members during June and July, garnering responses from more than 1,000 district-level school-nutrition professionals—revealed that meeting these mandates has harmed the financial health of nearly 70 percent of school-meal programs surveyed and benefited fewer than 3 percent.
In 2015 alone, schools must absorb $1.2 billion in added costs as a result of the standards, according to the USDA. When asked to identify the factors that have harmed their program’s financial health, “increased per meal food costs” led the list by a wide margin, cited by 70 percent of respondents.
Although 99 percent of responding districts have implemented or plan to implement initiatives to promote healthier choices to students, key findings indicate that 80 percent of school districts have had to take steps to offset financial losses resulting from the new standards, including reducing staff (49 percent of districts), diminishing the meal program’s reserve fund (41 percent), limiting menu choices and variety (36 percent) and deferring or canceling equipment investments (32 percent).
The SNA said it supports the “overwhelming majority” of the healthy standards, including calorie limits and an increase in fruits and vegetables served, but advocates for greater flexibility with the rules, such as halting further requirements to reduce sodium and increasing the amount schools are reimbursed for meals so they can afford to comply.
Results of this survey come as Congress prepares to reauthorize The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010—which expires in September. It isn’t faring well everywhere, with numerous reports showing schools opting out of the school-meal program for various reasons, one of the biggest being students not eating the healthier food.