At A Glance
Noteworthy Characteristics
- This is the first comprehensive, nationally representative study of the school meals programs since program reforms were implemented.
- New meal pattern requirements that affected the food and nutrient content of school meals; the types of foods students needed to select in order for their meal to be eligible for Federal reimbursement; pricing for full-price (also called “paid”) meals; and the types of foods and beverages that could be sold in schools during the school day (“competitive foods”).
Website
https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-nutrition-and-meal-cost-study
Purpose
The School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) continues FNS’s long-standing commitment to periodically assess the school meal programs (i.e., the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program). SNMCS combined two important studies-- the School Nutrition and Dietary Assessment (SNDA) and the School Lunch and Breakfast Cost Studies (SLBCS)-- to simultaneously examine, for the first time, the nutritional quality of school meals and the cost of producing those meals. Data were collected in School Year (SY) 14/15 and the study is the first nationally representative, comprehensive assessment of the meal programs since major reforms began in SY 2012-2013. Specifically, SNMCS assessed the food and nutrient content of school meals and afterschool snacks, the overall nutritional quality of school meals, student participation in the school meals programs, and students’ 24-hour dietary intakes. SNMCS also examined, for the first time in a national study, students’ acceptance of school meals in a quantitative way, using data on the amount of food students waste (plate waste). Finally, SNMCS examined associations between major outcomes of interest, for example, the association between the nutritional quality of school meals and student participation and the association between the cost and nutritional quality of school meals.
Target Population
School food authorities, school nutrition managers, students, parents.
Conducted
Data were collected in SY 2014/2015, and the final report volumes were published in 2019
Sponsor
United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service
To request data, please contact OPSDataRequests@usda.gov
Sampling
Sample Design
Cross-sectional survey.
The sampling approach involve first randomly dividing a sampling frame of all public School Food Authorities (SFA) into three separate groups:
• Group 1 includes SFAs, but no schools were sampled. SFAs that serve only charter schools were represented in this group. Group 1 SFAs participated in the SFA Director Survey to provide the precision required for estimating SFA characteristics and policies.
• Group 2 includes SFAs, schools, and students and their parents. Group 2 SFAs participated in the SFA Director, School Nutrition Manager (SNM), and Principal Surveys. Interviews were conducted with students (and their parents) in these schools as well as dietary recalls.
• Group 3 includes SFAs, schools, and lunch and breakfast observations. A subset of SFAs and schools provided additional data needed to estimate meal costs. Plate waste was observed at a subsample of Group 3 schools.
Learn more about the sample design.
Sample Size
From January to June 2015, data were collected from 518 school food authorities, more than 1,200 schools, 2,165 students, and 1,850 parents. Plate waste observations were completed for 6,253 lunch trays (in 165 schools) and 3,601 breakfast trays (in 154 schools).
Key Variables
Demographic
| Name | Methods of Assessment |
|---|---|
| Grade level | Common Core Data (CCD) school-level file |
| Child race/ethnicity | Interview/questionnaire (parent interview) |
| Child age | Interview/questionnaire (parent interview) |
| Target day participation in SBP and NSLP | Administrative data from Reimbursable Meal Sale Form |
| Usual participation in SBP and NSLP | Interview/questionnaire (student interview) |
| Household education, income, participation in other Federal assistance programs | Interview/questionnaire (parent interview) |
Diet-Related
| Name | Methods of Assessment |
|---|---|
| National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program participation rates | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director, school nutrition manager, principal) |
| items available a la carte at breakfast or lunch in elementary, middle, high, and other schools | Interview/questionnaire (school nutrition managers) |
| Practices used in setting prices for components of reimbursable meals that are sold a la carte in elementary, middle, high, and other schools | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey) |
| Compliance of school meals with updated meal requirements | Interview/questionnaire (school nutrition manager) |
| SFA received food service operations training or technical assistance to implement new meal requirements | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey, school nutrition manager) |
| Challenges SFAs face in being able to fully comply with new meal requirements | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey, school nutrition manager) |
| SFAs’ perception that new meal requirements are meeting underlying goals | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey) |
| Nutrition standards implemented for competitive foods | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey) |
| School menu planning practices | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey) |
| Primary responsibility for determining which foods are purchased commercially | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey) |
| Brand-name or chain restaurant foods offered | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey) |
| Engaged in a “pouring rights” contract (long-term contract with beverage company) | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey) |
| Participation in “state Farm to School” program | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey) |
| Participation in food purchasing cooperative | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey) |
| Purchase fruits and vegetables through U.S. Department of Defense “DoD Fresh” program | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey) |
| Use of Alliance for a Healthier Generation or other similar tools for selecting and purchasing healthier foods | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey) |
| Stakeholders consulted when developing local wellness policy | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey) |
| Components addressed in district wellness policy | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey) |
| Price charges for school breakfast and lunch meals | Interview/questionnaire (school nutrition manager) |
| Max servings of fruits, veggies allowed at breakfast, lunch | Interview/questionnaire (school nutrition manager) |
| Prices charged for full- and reduced price school meals | Interview/questionnaire (school nutrition manager) |
| Off-campus food sources close enough to walk or drive to | Interview/questionnaire (principal) |
| Whether student eats lunch at school, home, or off campus | Interview/questionnaire (student interview) |
| Nutritional quality of school meals (collected detailed information about the foods prepared for and served in reimbursable meals and offered afterschool snacks during one school week) | Menu Survey (school nutrition manager) |
| Students’ eating habits (e.g., picky eater, amount of food normally eaten) | Interview/questionnaire (parent and student interviews) |
| Students’ usual and single-day 24-hour dietary intakes | USDA’s Automated Multiple-Pass Method (AMPM) |
Physical Activity-Related
| Name | Methods of Assessment |
|---|---|
| Recess rules, duration, and timing | Interview/questionnaire (Principal) |
| Students’ activity levels compared to other children, time spent watching TV and playing video games, number of days students are physically active | Interview/questionnaire (parent and student interviews) |
Weight-Related
| Name | Methods of Assessment |
|---|---|
| Child height and weight | Onsite height and weight measurements |
Other
| Name | Methods of Assessment |
|---|---|
| School enrollment and nutrition program participations rates | Interview/questionnaire (school food authority director survey) |
| Household food security status | Interview/questionnaire (parent interview) |
Data Access and Cost
Data Availability
To request data, please contact OPSDataRequests@usda.gov
Cost
Free of charge
Geocode/Linkage
Geocode Variable(s)
n/a
Existing Linkages
n/a
