Several strategies may lower plate waste in School Feeding Programs

Food Review, Summer-Fall, 2002 by Joanne F. Guthrie, Jean C. Buzby

USDA's school nutrition programs include the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP). On an average schoolday in 2001, 27.5 million children ate an NSLP lunch and 7.8 million children ate an SBP breakfast, at an annual cost to USDA of about $6.5 billion for the NSLP and $1.4 billion for the SBP. Because of the importance of the programs to schoolchildren's diets and because of the programs' magnitude, there is a high level of interest in how well the programs operate. One way to gauge the efficiency of a feeding program is to measure plate waste, which is generally defined as the quantity of edible food served that is uneaten. Although some food served will inevitably be wasted, excessive waste may be a sign of an inefficient operation or one that is not responsive to children's appetites or food preferences.

Excessive plate waste may also indicate that children are not fully benefiting from the nutrients offered by school meals, particularly if waste is primarily derived from foods, such as vegetables and fruits, that are underconsumed by American children in comparison with Federal dietary guidance. Nutritious, balanced meals eaten during childhood can provide benefits in terms of children's health, well-being, and academic achievement and reduce risk factors for some chronic diseases in later life. Good eating habits learned early in life may carry over into adulthood. In short, healthful eating, coupled with regular physical activity, helps to optimize physical and cognitive development, maintain a healthful weight, and reduce risk of chronic disease.

USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) reviewed studies on plate waste in school nutrition programs, particularly the NSLP, to determine the level of plate waste in these programs, factors that contribute to plate waste, and strategies that may reduce plate waste. The best available data suggest that approximately 12 percent of foods served as part of the NSLP are wasted, resulting in an estimated direct economic loss of over $600 million. Plate waste is ubiquitous and probably impossible to completely eliminate--a review of data on household and commercial food waste indicates that consumer plate waste levels are comparable to NSLP levels. Nevertheless, reductions in plate waste can make program operations more efficient, lower costs, and enhance the program's success in meeting nutrition objectives.

Most school meal services use the offer versus serve provision to decrease plate waste while maintaining nutritional benefits. Under this provision, children may select a portion of the complete school meal (see box on school meal programs), though they are encouraged to take the complete meal. Some elementary schools decrease waste by scheduling lunch after recess. Other strategies that may be useful in decreasing plate waste include nutrition education campaigns, expanded use of self-service and regulatory options for customizing portion sizes to children's grade levels, and improvement of quality, appearance, and/or acceptability of foods.

Plate Waste in the National School Lunch Program

Plate waste has been defined as the proportion of food served that is uneaten, the amount of calories uneaten, or the amount of nutrients uneaten. Plate waste in children's school lunches has traditionally been measured via one of three methods: physical measurements (such as weighing discarded food), visual estimates made by trained observers, and food consumption as recalled by children.

ERS conducted a comprehensive review of school plate waste studies carried out between 1977 and 2001. Most studies focused on a handful of schools in a particular region. Plate waste estimates from these smaller studies ranged from 10 to 37 percent, probably indicating both local variations in plate waste and the effects of different study methodologies.

The only nationwide study that assessed the nutrient content of food actually eaten by students and the amount of food wasted was the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study-I (SNDA-I). The SNDA-I collected data for the 1991-92 school year by interviewing a nationally representative sample of about 3,350 students in grades 1 through 12. Students were asked to recall all the food and beverages they consumed over a 24-hour period. For school meals, students were questioned not only about the food they ate but also about the food they selected or were served but did not consume. The study did not look at food wasted in lunches brought from home.

The SNDA-I study found that NSLP participants wasted about 12 percent of the calories in the food that they were served. (Plate waste in any particular school or district may differ substantially from the NSLP average due to local circumstances and operating conditions.) Estimates of food waste at the consumer level suggest that the 12-percent estimate of plate waste in the NSLP is not unreasonable. The direct economic cost of plate waste in the NSLP is estimated at over $600 million annually. This estimate was calculated by multiplying 12 percent by $5.49 billion, the portion of the $6.2 billion NSLP allocation for fiscal 2000 that went to cash payments for meals. The estimate does not include the costs of the Federal share of State administrative expenses, any wasted commodity entitlements or bonus food, or the private costs of wasted foods purchased by students under the NSLP program. It does not adjust for differences in the costs of food items wasted (for example, more expensive entrees versus less expen sive side dishes) because these data are not available. The method also assumes that the economic costs of plate waste include the overhead and labor costs of preparing and serving the meals. Finally, the estimate does not include the value of lost nutrition and health benefits.