10.18.2013 Thanks to the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, the nutritional bar has been raised for school foods across the country. Recent UC Berkeley research shows that California students and families widely support the healthy changes seen in school lunch and breakfast over the last few years. Link
While school food has improved in nutritional quality, there is still much work to be done to ensure that school foods are also tasty, fresh and appealing to students. As the saying goes, it’s not nutritious unless the students actually eat it!
Stereotypes of school food abound, and most people’s idea of school food is based solely on their personal experience. What do we mean when we say we want “tasty, fresh and appealing” school food for students? What does “tasty, fresh and appealing” school food look like? Food Revolution’s Pinterest board has a collection of photos of school food that hits the mark. Link
How do we move from the image of reheated, bland school food to a vibrant, appealing meal that students would gladly choose? The barriers that we need to overcome to improve school food include:
- Student Perception – Students must be convinced that school food can taste great and be a good value. Students won’t eat the food unless it is improved, but it can be hard for districts to make improvements without the reimbursement funds from increased participation.
- Procurement – Schools have to be able to source, order, purchase, receive and store fresh and basic ingredients. Many schools lack access to suppliers who can provide fresh produce, or basic, minimally processed ingredients. Efforts can be made to encourage schools to better utilize minimally processed USDA Foods or Department of Defense Fresh produce.
- Training – School food service staff and directors need the professional skills and training to plan, prepare, and serve fresh and appealing school meals. Food service staff need basic culinary skills if they are to move beyond ‘reheat and serve’to freshly prepared meals.
- Facilities and Capital Improvements– Many schools have food storage, kitchen and dining facilities that are outdated, inadequate, unmaintained or non-existent. While many schools can be doing more with what they have, some schools can’t realistically be expected to do better without funding for equipment and facilities. Many improvement costs can be recouped with increased revenue from higher participation rates as food quality improves.
- School Food Environment – While USDA regulations have set standards for “competitive foods” sold on campus, foods sold outside of the school meal programs entice students away from the healthy, balanced (and subsidized) meals available to them. School snack shops, fundraisers and celebrations on campus that use unhealthy foods to appeal to students, and mobile vending adjacent to school grounds all impact a student’s decision to eat a healthy school meal.
- Accountability – School food service directors often feel unsupported in their efforts to improve school food. Existing accountability for school food operations focuses on finances, compliance with nutritional standards, and food safety. Because there is no expectation or accountability system for appealing food, it is easy to overlook the quality, taste and appeal of school food and focus on not violating any program requirements.
Improving the quality and appeal of school meals is not an easy task, but there are many strategies and achievable goals that districts can set for improvement. Advocates and peer leaders in school food can provide a vision for the potential and opportunity for quality improvement. State agencies can provide the support and direction to help move districts in the right direction, and policy can provide benchmarks for quality and accountability for the quality of food served to students.
For more information, please contact Tracey Patterson at 510-433-1122 x 101 or tracey@cfpa.net.
