Wellness Plans Change School Foodservice Landscape
There's no doubt that the development of school wellness policies has had a significant impact on our industry. Not only has its development changed your job, it's impacted your participation rates, your pocketbooks, and your student’s taste buds. The results?
Participation Rates
With the implementation of nutrition standards, meal participation has increased in 25 % of schools surveyed, according to a report published by the School Nutrition Association (SNA) in September 2007. The study also found that a la carte revenue decreased in 34-51 % of schools surveyed.
Pocketbooks
Serving healthier foods has proven costly – at least at first. Nearly 80-percent of districts surveyed experienced increased costs just after implementing the nutrition standards. However, a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that despite a decline in revenues following implementation, revenues eventually returned to prior levels as students acclimated to changes.1
Student’s Taste Buds
Along with school wellness policies came healthier lunch options. A University of Minnesota study found that in 330 Minnesota school districts, lunch sales did not decline when healthier meals were served.2 That’s excellent news! As for the impact on costs, the study found that labor costs increased while costs for processed foods decreased.
So what is a foodservice director to do with all this information?
- SNA suggests sharing research results with community stakeholders from the superintendent and the school board to the wellness policy team. There may be several reasons for blips in your budget, but these studies point to evidence of a shared experience around the country.
- Some Minnesota researchers suggest discussing an indirect cost-sharing plan with district administrators to temporarily increase funding for kitchen upgrades and staff training.
- Invest in marketing activities by promoting new menu items, conducting taste tests, and communicating with parents to positively influence your bottom line during this transition.
- Identify new menu items that are proven winners among kids, are simple to prepare, and use existing value-priced commodity foods.
1. Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and the U.S. Department of Education. FNS-374, Making It Happen! School Nutrition Success Stories. Alexandria, VA, January 2005.
2. Wagner, B., Senauer, B., Runge, C.F. An Empirical Analysis of and Policy Recommendations to Improve the Nutritional Quality of School Meals. Review of Agricultural Economics. 29 (Nov 2007):672-688.
