A study of 11 school districts in Massachusetts, where requirements for healthier school meals and snacks took effect at the same time, saw a 6.6 percent drop in food service revenue in the first year but revenues rebounded in the second year to nearly the same level as before, says an arm of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which funded the research. Revenue from snack sales fell in the first year; there was no significant change in revenue from meals. Participation in the school food program increased during the second year.
“Our findings suggest that concerns about school revenues or participation in meals programs are not strong arguments for rolling back USDA’s healthier meal and snack standards,” said the lead author of the study, Juliana Cohen, an assistant professor at Merrimack College. “We found that students spent less money on snacks, but thanks to more kids participating in the lunch program, school food revenues were not impacted long-term.”
Under a 2010 law, USDA is requiring schools to serve meals that contain more fruit, vegetables, dairy and whole grains while cutting back on fat, salt and sugar. The stricter rules on meals, which took effect in fall 2012, and on snacks, which came into force in the fall of 2014, have generated complaints from some school districts of rising costs, a drop in participation in the school lunch and school breakfast programs, and more food being discarded. Child nutrition programs are due for a tune-up this year. Lawmakers have intervened for the past couple of years to delay rules that wouid reduce salt levels further and expand use of whole grains.
Massachusetts implemented more stringent snack rules in 2012 in tandem with the USDA meal reforms. The state’s snack rules are similar to USDA’s second phase of snack rules that will take effect later this year. USDA’s “smart snacks” rules cover food and beverages sold through vending machines, a la carte lines in cafeteria and school stores.