Factors Influencing Resource Allocation Decisions Of School Food Service Directors

Nutrition Research Newsletter, Sept, 1999 by Bonnie Hackes, Carol Shanklin

Few school food service operations have solid waste management plans in place; however these plans are among the necessary controls required to run an efficient operation. Food service directors are required to make many decisions regarding resource allocation, consistent with policies regarding pollution prevention, product stewardship, and sustainable development. The main question raised in a recent Kansas State University study was if environmental factors were considered during these resource allocation decisions. The researchers hypothesized that environmental factors were more important than cost and availability of labor and that school food service operations have specific policies and procedures related to water, energy, and solid waste management.

Questionnaires were distributed to 389 school food service directors in cities with a population greater than 200,000 or school districts with an enrollment of 40,000 or more. All directors were members of the American School Foodservice Association. The questionnaires were developed after an initial telephone survey using a convenience sample of nine school food service directors. The questionnaire developed for the study contained closed-ended questions, and was divided into the following sections: equipment and production systems, menu selection and service style, environmental issues, and future challenges. Respondents ranked the importance of these factors when making resource allocation decisions on a five-point Likert scale.

Of the 389 surveys mailed out, there were 168 (45.5%) responses. The directors ranked labor as the most important factor when selecting equipment. This was followed by age of equipment, maintenance considerations, energy efficiency, existing energy connection, energy cost, and lease vs. purchase decisions. When selecting a production system, directors again placed the most importance on labor, followed by utility cost, food cost, number of students, and finally desire to reduce the amount of solid waste generated. Convenience items were used in 70% of the school districts, while 30% prepared the food from scratch. Products from local sources were purchased by 77.3% of respondents. When selecting a vehicle for transporting food to satellite operations, food safety and transport capacity ranked as the most important factors.

Availability of a dishwashing machine was most important in the decision to use permanent (34%) or disposable (43.9%) serviceware. The majority of the directors (62.6%) were participating in recycling programs. The respondents that made the decision not to recycle provided the following reasons: no market for recyclables (42%), no pickup available for recycled items (30.2%), and too much labor to recycle (21.3%). Food service directors were most concerned about food safety and the availability of qualified employees in the next five years. At the bottom of their list was water quality and waste-removal costs, with the lowest importance ratings. Overall, respondents perceived that cost factors were more important than environmental factors in resource allocation decisions. Food service directors should consider natural resources when making operational decisions so that resources can be conserved and pollution prevented. The researchers made the following recommendations: Purchase locally grown food products, divert food waste from landfills to compost or animal feed, purchase products with recycled content, implement energy programs and train employees to turn off equipment such as dishwashing machines when not in use.

Bonnie Hackes, Carol Shanklin, Factors other than environmental issues influence resource allocation decisions of school foodservice directors, Journal American Dietetic Association 99(8): 944-949 (August 1999) [Correspondence: Bonnie L. Hackes, PhD, DTR, Dept. of Nutrition and Dietetics, Louisiana Tech University, PO Box 3176, Ruston, LA 71272.]