Several strategies may lower plate waste in School Feeding Programs

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

The offer versus serve provision in school meal service is implemented somewhat differently in schools using nutrient-based approaches and those using food-based approaches to menu planning. In schools that use the nutrient-based meal planning systems, students must select at least two of the USDA meal-pattern items offered, one of which must be an entree, and may decline a maximum of two menu items. Children in schools that use the food-based menu planning systems must take a full portion of at least three of five meal-pattern items offered to get a reimbursable lunch, although they are encouraged to take all five items.

Do Outside Foods Compete With the NSLP?

In most schools, National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) meals are not the only purchasable food choices available to students. The School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study II, which was recently completed by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, reports that, as of the 1998-99 school year, students in more than 9 out of 10 schools could purchase a la carte foods and beverages (that is, items not sold as part of an NSLP or SBP meal) in school cafeterias. The range of a la carte options tends to increase as students get older. At the elementary school level, 28 percent of schools limit a la carte items to milk only; an additional 11 percent limit a la carte offerings to milk, juice, and desserts. At the middle school and high school levels, a la carte offerings tend to be more extensive and may be more likely to completely substitute for NSLP meals or meals brought from home.

Vending machines selling foods and beverages were present in 76 percent of high schools, 55 percent of middle schools, and 15 percent of elementary schools. Finally, 41 percent of high schools, 35 percent of middle schools, and 9 percent of elementary schools sold food items through school stores, snack bars, or canteens. More recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's School Health Policies and Programs Study 2000 found that 95 percent of high schools, 62 percent of middle schools, and 26 percent of elementary schools have one or more vending machines from which students can purchase food or beverages. Also, 59 percent of high schools, 39 percent of middle schools, and 27 percent of elementary schools sold food items through school stores, snack bars, or canteens.

The presence of competing food options may decrease the likelihood that a child will purchase the USDA school meal, but, for those who continue to participate in the meal program, competing foods could also affect plate waste. For example, a child could choose a federally reimbursed school lunch but also purchase additional foods, such as snack or dessert items, from competitive sources and fail to completely consume the school lunch because part of it was replaced by the competing item. In such cases, plate waste would not represent a loss of calories but rather a substitution of items of differing calorie and nutrient profiles. In the future, it may be necessary to assess the role of competing food options in children's school meal choices to fully understand the nutritional significance of plate waste.