Strategies to Increase School Meal Consumption & Reduce Waste

Across all workplaces, employees are more likely to stay in their role and engaged if their organization invests in them.14 The correlation between job satisfaction and reduced turnover is well established; having engaged school nutrition staff is instrumental to cost efficiency and program quality.15 Staff stability also allows students to build relationships with staff, which may help with their perception of school meals.16 Further, school nutrition staff are an essential part of the educational system, given how important school meals are for students’ development and education. Thus, school districts should implement practices that support school nutrition staff’s job satisfaction, such as:

Training & Professional Development

While annual training is required, more professional development may better support staff. Training could focus on using new equipment, recipes, and preparation methods, and/or student engagement activities. Some districts have partnered with local community colleges and technical schools to help their staff strengthen their culinary skills.17 Research and observations from Project Bread staff support that trainings have a positive impact on the school meal environment and students’ consumption of school meals.

Compensation and Benefits

School nutrition staff are essential to school and student success, yet their low compensation and part-time structure creates challenges for employee recruitment and retention. The part-time schedules for school nutrition staff often means they are ineligible for benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans, layering cost burdens for the individuals and their families.

When students are familiar with the food presented to them and have some agency in selecting their foods, it increases the likelihood of consumption. While schools cannot stray from required meal patterns, schools can offer choices within meal components (meats/ alternatives, grains, fruits, vegetables, and milk) which has been shown to boost consumption.22 This is not only about the number of choices, but choice types and how they are offered. Examples of best practices include:

Offer vs. Serve (OVS) gives students flexibility within meal components Students may select foods they prefer and decline food they don’t intend to eat. Studies show that increasing fruit and vegetable options is associated with increased consumption. OVS is only required at the high school level.

Customization gives students the ability to tailor school meals to fit their needs and preferences. Such approaches include salad bars and other “build your-own” or spice/flavor-stations. For example, schools with bowl stations, which allow students to choose their toppings over a bed of rice or greens.

Culturally Connected Food

Culture is expressed through food and influences what students are familiar with, which is a driver of consumption. School nutrition staff should incorporate not just familiar foods, but also flavors and presentations - aligning menus so that their student population feels connected to it.This can combine with engagement activities, such as surveys and taste tests to introduce new foods, recipes, and traditions while also seeking student feedback.

Competitive Foods

Many schools offer unsubsidized food items which compete with reimbursable meals. Competitive food policies are often made at the local, school wellness policy level. SFAs should consider whether their budgets require competitive food sales. Research on districts which limit access to competitive foods were found to be cost-neutral and led to increases in school meal participation.