School Food Policies

Overview

In recent decades, the availability of unhealthy foods in school environments has escalated dramatically, as vending machines, à la carte cafeteria lines, and school stores have become common sources of junk food. When unhealthy foods compete with school meal programs, they drain student participation and, most importantly, compromise student health.

When it comes to promoting fruits and vegetables in school settings, challenges and opportunities abound in equal measure. The school food environment is rife with complexities, including the interplay between federal, state and local laws; school rules, cultures and dynamics; and multiple stakeholders who often have competing interests. Last but not least, school authorities face the constant challenge of balancing health and nutrition against affordability—a particularly pressing problem today.

Why is access to nutritious food an issue in today’s schools, and why is it essential that students have appealing, healthy choices in school foods and beverages?   

• School children spend much of their day at school;
• Nearly a third of U.S. children are overweight or obese. Obesity is a critical problem for boys and girls and for all racial and ethnic groups;
• Nutritious meals improve academic performance, increase school attendance, and reduce behavior problems;
• Low-income children, including low-income Hispanic, non-Hispanic Blacks, and Native Americans, are disproportionately affected by childhood obesity, and disparities appear to be growing;
• Nearly two-thirds of children in school lunch programs, and up to 90 percent of those in breakfast programs, are from low-income households;
• Low-income children face numerous challenges accessing healthy food outside of school, due to poverty and community “food insecurity,” including limited access to stores with fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious food;
• For many low-income children, school provides the only nutritious meal of the day and the most important source of nutrition.

The economic crisis facing the nation is having a critical impact on the ability of schools to help meet the nutritional needs of children. Troubling racial disparities in child poverty levels underscore the importance of targeting those most in need. Worse, childhood poverty is increasing, and with it, obesity rates. The current economic crisis will undoubtedly accelerate this trend.

Still, this is an opportune time to examine how to improve students’ access to nutritious foods—and fruits and vegetables, in particular—in school environments. A virtual revolution is underway on this topic. Nearly every aspect of school food practices is under examination by researchers, lawmakers, and advocates. Initiatives, large and small, are underway at all levels of government in every state, and many are yielding promising results.  These policies include efforts to address competitive foods in the schools, increasing participation in meal programs, policies supporting farm-to-school programs and the use of locally-grown food, and state coordination.

Public health and law specialists committed to improving the school food environment face a complex mix of federal mandates and programs for most state and local activities related to K-12 schools. An overview of these programs is available in the Public Health Law Center’s policy brief, Promoting Fruits and Vegetables in School: Policy Challenges and Opportunities in a Complex Food Environment.

Legislation

The Child Nutrition Act of 1966 is currently up for reauthorization. This law regulates the School Lunch Program and sets standards for foods that can be sold in schools outside of the lunch program.  The bill is a work in progress, and at times has included language that would preempt or restrict state and local authority to set their own standards for foods sold in schools.  It remains to be seen how the final version of the law may impact state and local authority in this area.

Select Resources

• Institute of Medicine, Report Brief:  Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity (2009).
• Trust for America’s Health, F as in Fat:  How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America (2009).
• How to Enforce a Wellness Policy: A Guide for Parents and Community Advocates, NPLAN
• School Nutrition Association, Resource Center
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools

Select Research

• Susan Lynn Roberts, Note, School Food: Does the Future Call for New Food Policy or Can the Old Still Hold True?, 7 Drake Journal of Agriculture Law 588 (2002) (chronicles the history of school food policy and future needs).
• Ctrs. for Law & the Public’s Health, Law and Coordinated School Health Program, 78 (No. 2) Journal of School Health 83 (2008) (details the role of law in the Coordinated School Health Program).

Select Sample Policies

• School Nutrition Association, Selected School Wellness & Nutrition Policies
• Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Model Menu Labeling Law
• National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA), Model School Wellness Policies
• Healthy Eating Research, Local School Wellness Policies:  How are Schools Implementing the Congressional Mandate? (June 2009).
• NPLAN Model Ordinances – The website for NPLAN, the National Policy and Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity, has a number of model ordinances and policies to promote healthy eating in school and community settings. 
• Healthy School Food Zone Ordinance
• Creating a Healthy Food Zone Around Schools
• District Policy Restricting Food and Beverage Advertising on School Grounds
• First Amendment Implications of Restricting Food and Beverage Marketing in Schools
• Developing a Healthy Beverage Vending Agreement
• District Policy Establishing a Healthy Vending Program
• Fifty-State Scan of Laws Addressing Community Use of Schools