School Meals and the Supply Chain: Five Things You Should Know
Every school day, K-12 schools serve nutritious meals to about 30 million children through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, providing the fuel kids need to grow, learn, and thrive. And the school meals food system has proven to be resilient, even though food supply chain challenges still linger today as a result of the COVID pandemic.
Here are five insights about the state of the school meals supply chain in school year 2023-24:
- 95% of SFAs experienced at least one supply chain-related challenge, but overall, the median number of challenges was less than the previous school year.
- Similar to the previous school year, more than 80% of SFAs reported high food costs, making it the most common challenge.
- More than 30% of SFAs reported increasing the use of scratch cooking to address supply chain challenges during SY 2023–24. Note: Scratch cooking is preparing meals with fresh ingredients, rather than using ready-made foods.
- More than 20% of SFAs reported increasing purchases of local foods to address supply chain challenges.
- While almost 25% of SFAs reported less student participation due to supply chain challenges, schools in states offering Healthy School Meals for All were less likely to see a reduction in student participation, compared to states not offering Healthy School Meals for All. Note: “Healthy School Meals for All” refers to states that are providing meals at no cost to all students.