Title: Why Reducing Food Waste in School Meal Programs Matters – Healthy Food Choices in Schools
Headings: Why Reducing Food Waste in School Meal Programs Matters
Why Reducing Food Waste in School Meal Programs Matters
Wasted Food is Wasted Nutrition
Unintended Effects of Nutritional Policy
Profitability is Independent of Consumer Waste
Foodservices need food buyers, and parents need food eaters
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Content: This is especially important for our most vulnerable, undernourished students where school foodservice is a primary source of nutrition. Unintended Effects of Nutritional Policy
Improving students’ nutritional intake is not a new challenge, and much has been done toward improvements. However, there are public policies in place to encourage healthy consumption that may also be unintentionally exacerbating food waste. For example, over half of the nation’s public school students are currently eligible for free or reduced-price meals, [2] and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires that each reimbursable meal must include a serving of both fruits and vegetables (the child must take one or the other). Not only are school systems reporting revenue losses of 15% due to this new policy, [3] a study from Cornell/Brigham Young [4] suggests that requiring students to place fruits and veggies on their tray increases waste substantially. In fact, waste may amount to almost $5 million a day across all 31.6 million national school lunch eaters. An important consideration is that the USDA currently reimburses school lunchrooms $3.07 for each free lunch and $2.67 for a reduced price lunch; [ 5] with 21.5 million free and reduce lunch eaters, the potential daily waste of USDA funds exceeds $16 million if everyone wastes a 75 cent orange or apple. Profitability is Independent of Consumer Waste
All things considered, the business incentive for a school foodservice director is not in line with food waste reduction; directors are under pressure to get students to buy lunch, not necessarily to eat lunch.