Beyond customizing training to the size and urbanicity of school districts, respondents also expressed a need for state and local policies that allow for more purchasing flexibility and options while still reflecting their local economic and workforce trends. Adjusting purchasing thresholds is an obvious policy topic for consideration, where exemptions or waivers could be tested for purchases with Child Nutrition Program funds. These policy reforms could be limited to specific locales to address issues such as limited vendor pools, remote locations, and a lack of storage facilities or scratch-cooking kitchens. Other policy areas to consider through a more regional or local lens include meal-pattern substitutions, required documentation, USDA Foods delivery times, and use of commodities and allocations. Serving Students Within a Budget Respondents shared how high prices and low student participation impact school nutrition program budgets. One school nutrition director from the Mountain Plains region shared that “inconsistent food availability...can affect meal participation rates and the overall success of the school nutrition program.” There are multiple ways to address funding shortages, including increasing funding, reducing waste, and growing revenue. As schools attempt to do more with less funds, school nutrition staff are trying to increase the revenue to provide students with a variety of meals and encourage consistent program participation. A school nutrition director from the Southeast region mentioned that their program “increased adult and student meal prices to offset for high expenses and lack of federal funding.” Providing students with consistent meals they enjoy has numerous benefits and is a core stated goal of many SFAs. Better quality and more appealing food options are more likely to be eaten, reducing waste, and more likely to be purchased, increasing revenue. It is important to note that increasing student participation alone is not a solution for the challenges SFAs face, and further, that it will be difficult to increase student participation in the absence of other structural changes. One school nutrition director from a rural school district expressed that “[s]tudents, I believe, want some different choices and it is not as easy to provide with the rules and challenges we face in the school cafeteria department.” V. Conclusion With the publication of this report, we hope that SFA representatives can validate their own experiences, learn from the stories and opinions of their peers across the US, and consider creative approaches as they engage in discussions locally. Similarly, we recognize the vast amount of work performed by many state agencies to support and educate their SFAs on rules and regulations, and hope that this report shines a light on additional needs and challenges of SFAs and ignites discussions on the recommendations presented to better support Child Nutrition Programs at the local level. Furthermore, the findings of this survey, along with the content of the report, will act as the foundation for the next phase of the cooperative agreement between the USDA and USFA. As part of future research, Partners for Public Good and USFA will explore directly solving some of the top procurement challenges identified in this report with a select group of school districts; provide technical assistance to test recommendations described in this report; and measure their effectiveness on said challenges. This model of in-the-field research with school districts will allow for direct observation of challenges, their impact, and the efficacy of solutions, while the length of the project (12-18 months) will allow for sustainability and evaluation of implementation and adoptability.
23 Procuring Good Food at School: From Contracts to Lunch Trays |
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