School districts across the country pared their menus, reduced staffing, and canceled equipment purchases because of the pandemic, but nearly half of them still lost money in the cafeteria during the past school year, said a survey released on Thursday. More than eight of every 10 food directors taking part in the School Nutrition Association survey said they were concerned about financial losses and staff shortages in the upcoming school year.
“School meal programs, which are critical to the health and success of millions of America’s students, face an uncertain future following the pandemic,” said SNA president Reggie Ross. “Congress must act to ensure these programs are financially sustainable to benefit future generations.”
House and Senate committee leaders, stymied in recent years, hope to pass a child nutrition bill this year. The last overhaul of school food programs was in 2010. It called for more fresh produce and grains in school meals and less salt, fat, and sugar. School food directors say they are finding it difficult to meet the targets for less salt and more whole grain foods.
The Urban School Food Alliance of 15 large-enrollment districts from Seattle to Miami has proposed an increase of at least 10 percent in the federal reimbursement rate for each meal served. The SNA says Congress should provide additional relief funds.
Both groups say school meals should be free for all students as a way to assure good nutrition. Free meals would also reduce paperwork, they say, since at present schools must track which students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals and which must pay full price for food.
Almost all schools took advantage of USDA waivers that permitted them to serve meals at no charge starting in spring 2020, according to the SNA survey. The waivers are available again for the 2021-22 school year that starts later this summer.
Schools lost a potential $2.3 billion in reimbursement for meals because of the plunge in school attendance in the 12 months after the pandemic hit, said the SNA. School lunch participation, which exceeded 32 million a day before the pandemic hit in March 2020, fell below 6 million by May before recovering to an average of 14 million a day this past March.
“Pandemic-related losses and rising costs have tipped the balance” for school meal programs into the red, said the report. Some 48 percent of districts taking part in the survey said they anticipated a loss; an additional 20 percent said they were unsure. One-third of the school meal programs anticipating a loss said they had reserves to cover them.
Looking to the new school year, food directors almost universally said continued pandemic supply chain disruptions were a “moderate” or “serious” concern. Nine out of 10 said they were concerned about staff shortages, and 86 percent pointed to “financial sustainability/losses.”
President Biden has proposed expanding the USDA’s summer food program to cover all children who eat school meals for free or at a reduced price, and removing barriers that prevent schools in high-poverty neighborhoods from providing free meals to all students.
To cut costs last school year, 70 percent of school meal programs limited menu choices, 46 percent reduced staffing, and 42 percent deferred or canceled equipment purchases, according to the SNA report. It was based on 1,368 responses to surveys sent to 3,613 food directors during May and June.
The SNA’s “Back to School 2021 Report” is available here.