School lunch waste among middle school students: nutrients consumed and costs
- PMID: 23332326
- PMCID: PMC3788640
- DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2012.09.060
School lunch waste among middle school students: nutrients consumed and costs
Abstract
Background: The National School Lunch Program has been guided by modest nutrient standards, and the palatability of meals, which drives consumption, receives inadequate attention. School food waste can have important nutritional and cost implications for policymakers, students, and their families.
Purpose: Nutrient losses and economic costs associated with school meal waste were examined. The study also assessed if school foods served were valid proxies for foods consumed by students.
Methods: Plate waste measurements were collected from middle school students in Boston attending two Chef Initiative schools (n=1609) and two control schools (n=1440) during a 2-year pilot study (2007-2009) in which a professional chef trained cafeteria staff to make healthier school meals. The costs associated with food waste were calculated and the percentage of foods consumed was compared with a gold standard of 85% consumption. Analyses were conducted in 2010-2011.
Results: Overall, students consumed less than the required/recommended levels of nutrients. An estimated $432,349 of food (26.1% of the total food budget) was discarded by middle school students annually at lunch in these Boston middle schools. For most meal components, substantially less than 85% was consumed.
Conclusions: There is substantial food waste among middle school students in Boston. Overall, students' nutrient consumption levels were below school meal standards, and foods served were not valid proxies for foods consumed. The costs associated with discarded foods are high; if translated nationally for school lunches, roughly $1,238,846,400 annually is wasted. Students might benefit if additional focus were given to the quality and palatability of school meals.
Copyright © 2013 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Similar articles
-
Long-term impact of a chef on school lunch consumption: findings from a 2-year pilot study in Boston middle schools.J Acad Nutr Diet. 2012 Jun;112(6):927-33. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2012.01.015. Epub 2012 Apr 13. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2012. PMID: 22504283
-
Younger Elementary School Students Waste More School Lunch Foods than Older Elementary School Students.J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017 Jan;117(1):95-101. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2016.08.005. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017. PMID: 27637576 Free PMC article.
-
Competitive foods increase the intake of energy and decrease the intake of certain nutrients by adolescents consuming school lunch.J Am Diet Assoc. 2005 Feb;105(2):215-20. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2004.11.027. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005. PMID: 15668677
-
Effect of school wellness policies and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act on food-consumption behaviors of students, 2006-2016: a systematic review.Nutr Rev. 2017 Jul 1;75(7):533-552. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nux020. Nutr Rev. 2017. PMID: 28838082 Review.
-
Food Waste in the National School Lunch Program 1978-2015: A Systematic Review.J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017 Nov;117(11):1792-1807. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2017.06.008. Epub 2017 Aug 12. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017. PMID: 28807638 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
School Nutrition Environment and Services: Policies and Practices That Promote Healthy Eating Among K-12 Students.J Sch Health. 2023 Sep;93(9):762-777. doi: 10.1111/josh.13365. J Sch Health. 2023. PMID: 37670594
-
Improving school lunch menus with multi-objective optimisation: nutrition, cost, consumption and environmental impacts.Public Health Nutr. 2023 Aug;26(8):1715-1727. doi: 10.1017/S1368980023000927. Epub 2023 May 11. Public Health Nutr. 2023. PMID: 37165566 Free PMC article.
-
Students' consumption of high and low nutrition foods and reduced plate waste by schools' wellness-related policies and garden program participation.J Hum Nutr Diet. 2023 Jun;36(3):864-874. doi: 10.1111/jhn.13167. Epub 2023 Mar 27. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2023. PMID: 36890709 Free PMC article.
-
The Impact of Modifying Food Service Practices in Secondary Schools Providing a Routine Meal Service on Student's Food Behaviours, Health and Dining Experience: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients. 2022 Sep 2;14(17):3640. doi: 10.3390/nu14173640. Nutrients. 2022. PMID: 36079897 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Nutritional quality of lunch meals and plate waste in school lunch programme in Southern Thailand.J Nutr Sci. 2022 May 12;11:e35. doi: 10.1017/jns.2022.31. eCollection 2022. J Nutr Sci. 2022. PMID: 35620764 Free PMC article.
References
-
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. National school lunch program: Participation and lunches served. http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/slsummar.htm.
-
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. School breakfast program: Children participating. http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/31sblatest.htm.
-
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Final Rule Fed Regist. 2012;77:17. - PubMed
-
- Institute of Medicine (IOM) Nutrition standards for foods in schools: Leading the way toward healthier youth. http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2007/Nutrition-Standards-for-Foods-in-Schools....
-
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nutrient analysis protocols: How to analyze menus for USDA's school meals programs. 2010 http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/Resources/NAP1.pdf.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
