FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 2
Reducing Barriers
to Consuming
School Meals
Acknowledgments
This guide was written by Diane Girouard and
Crystal FitzSimons of the Food Research & Action
Center (FRAC). Maria Bowman, MPH, formerly of
FRAC, contributed to this guide. FRAC gratefully
acknowledges the support of the National Dairy
Council for this guide.
About FRAC
The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) is the
leading national organization working for more
eective public and private policies to eradicate
domestic hunger and undernutrition. For more
information about FRAC, or to sign up for FRAC’s
Weekly News Digest and monthly Meals Matter: School
Breakfast newsletter, visit:
frac.org.
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 3
T
he School Breakfast Program and National School
Lunch Program help ensure students have the
nutrition they need to learn throughout the school
day. With more than 95,000 schools across the country
participating in the school meals programs, the meals
that are provided oer a huge opportunity to reduce food
insecurity by serving nutritionally balanced and low-cost
or free breakfasts and lunches to millions of low-income
students every school day, and are an especially crucial
support for struggling families trying to stretch limited
resources at home. When students participate in school
meals, they tap into its many important benefits: improved
health, better test scores, and fewer visits to the school
nurse, school absences, and behavioral referrals.
Too many students miss out on these benefits, however,
when barriers exist that prevent students from consuming
the entirety of their meals. Limited access to breakfast
before the start of the school day, long serving lines,
and short meal periods are some of the logistical and
scheduling constraints that prevent students from eating
school meals. Students may be less likely to consume
components of their school meals if food being served is
unfamiliar to students or is not served in an appealing way.
Other issues, such as “meals shaming” practices that deny
a student a regular lunch because the student does not
have enough funds to pay, can be a deterrent to eating. All
of these barriers leave too many children missing out on a
healthy, nutritionally balanced school meal.
Given the critical role that school meals play in children’s
well-being and overall academic performance, the
Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) has conducted
interviews with school nutrition sta across the country
to identify and highlight best practices for breaking
down the barriers that keep students from being able
to fully consume their school meals. Throughout these
conversations, the following common practices were
emphasized as strategies to increase student meal
consumption:
n restructure school lunch time to ensure students have
enough time to eat lunch;
n expand accessibility to school meals by providing
meals at no charge to all students and through
innovative service models, like breakfast after the bell;
n increase the appeal of school meals through oering
locally sourced foods, scratch-cooking, culturally
reflective menu items, and engaging students;
n enhance the cafeteria environment to provide well-
designed spaces;
n market and brand the school meals program
to create awareness around the program and the
initiatives the district is participating in; and
n provide robust nutrition education to make the
cafeteria an extension of the classroom.
This guide provides strategies to boost school meals
consumption. School districts can follow the practices
implemented by their peers and highlighted throughout
this report to help maximize student participation and
consumption in school meals.
Introduction
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he timing of lunch during the school day and the
amount of time students have to eat their meal
directly impacts the amount of food that students
consume. Schools should first address scheduling
barriers to maximize the time students have to eat meals,
as well as ensuring lunch is served at a time where
students are hungriest and focused on eating, not
rushing to get to recess.
Provide 30 Minutes for Lunch
Schools must oer lunch between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00
p.m., but there are no federal requirements that specify
how long lunch times must be, leaving school districts to
determine the length of lunch periods. Studies have shown
that students eat more of their lunch when they have
sucient time to eat, and that insucient time can result
in decreased consumption of fruits, vegetables, and milk.
1
Recent data found that the typical lunch period is around
30 minutes, but that the time students actually have
to consume their meal is considerably less.
2
Research
suggests that school policies that provide 30 minute lunch
periods (of which students have at least 25 minutes of seat
time with their meal) provide adequate time for students to
eat and encourage consumption of meals.
3
Schedule Recess Before Lunch
Children are hungrier after physical activity, and putting
recess before lunch can lead to more food being
consumed. The Montana Oce of Public Instruction has
collected yearly data on the impact of scheduling recess
before lunch since 2005, which shows that elementary
students in schools oering recess before lunch consume
more of their meals.
4
In a survey of Montana principals
in schools where recess before lunch is implemented,
principals reported they saw improved consumption,
decreased food waste, a calmer atmosphere in the
cafeteria during lunch, and improved classroom behavior
after lunch.
When a school transitions to recess before lunch, some
school sta may be concerned about accommodating
handwashing and storing student’s lunchboxes during
recess and jackets after recess. Schools have addressed
this in various ways and should develop a policy before
Restructure School Lunch Time
1
Hildebrand, D., Millburg Ely, C., Betts, N., & Gates, G. (2018). Time to Eat School Lunch Aects Elementary Students’ Nutrient Consumption. Available at:
https://schoolnutrition.org/uploadedFiles/5_News_and_Publications/4_The_Journal_of_Child_Nutrition_and_Management/Fall_2018/Fall2018-Time-
To-Eat-Lunch.pdf. Accessed on October 9, 2019.
2
School Nutrition Association. (2018). School Nutrition Operations Report. This source is available to the public for purchase at http://schoolnutrition.org/
Publications/Bookstore/.
3
Cohen, J., Jahn, J., Richardson, S., Cluggish, S., Parker, E., & Rimm, E. (2016). The Amount of Time to Eat Lunch is Associated with Children’s Selection and
Consumption of School Meal Entrée, Fruits, Vegetable, and Milk. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4698073/. Accessed on
October 14, 2019.
4
Montana Oce of Public Instruction. (2017). Recess Before Lunch Guide. Available at: http://www.montana.edu/teamnutrition/documents/RecessBefore-
Lunch2017-online_Revised.pdf. Accessed on October 9, 2019.
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 5
implementing recess before lunch that builds in time to
allow students to return jackets to classrooms or other
storage areas and wash hands before entering the
cafeteria. Learn more about best practices for moving
recess before lunch with the Montana Oce of Public
Instruction’s Recess Before Lunch guide.
n Cincinnati Public Schools has several schools doing
recess before lunch, and school nutrition sta have
noticed shifting the schedule has helped with improved
structuring of the school day and an increased amount
of fruits, vegetables, and milk being consumed at these
schools.
n In Minneapolis, 70 percent of schools schedule recess
before lunch, up from just 7 percent in 2007. The
school district has encouraged schools to adopt this
scheduling change since 2006 as a way to increase
consumption. In 2017, the school district updated its
wellness policy directing schools to adopt this change
if possible.
Oer Versus Serve
Another common strategy school districts use
to boost meal consumption is using oer versus
serve (OVS). This strategy allows students to
select the foods they want to eat, which promotes
consumption, reduces food waste and costs, and
helps service lines run smoothly. Schools are
required to oer five food components (meats/meat
alternatives, grains, fruits, vegetables, and milk)
in order to be considered a reimbursable lunch.
Under OVS, students select at least three of the five
required components for lunch and three out of four
items for breakfast. Under this serving method, a
student must select a fruit or vegetable component
at both breakfast and lunch. OVS at lunch is
required for grades 9–12, and is optional for grades
K–8, while OVS at breakfast is optional for all grade
groups. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has
shared tips and posters on OVS that school districts
can use to help students and sta understand
which items students must take for the school
to be reimbursed.
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 6
S
cheduling barriers are not the only challenges
students face to being able to consume a school
meal. Accessibility to both school breakfast
and lunch and the cost of the meals directly impacts
consumption and participation, preventing students from
receiving the nutrition they need to continue learning
throughout the school day. Schools across the country
are finding that innovative ways to serve breakfast and
lunch beyond the traditional cafeteria lunch line, which
they often combine with oering meals at no charge, can
be enormously successful in increasing participation and
aiding in consumption of school meals.
Move Beyond the Cafeteria Line
School breakfast scheduled before the start of the school
day and in the cafeteria limits access to and consumption
of an entire breakfast. Many students are unable to
participate at all, and the students who do, often find
themselves rushing through the meal in order to get to
class on time. Moving breakfast out of the cafeteria before
school and into the classroom as part of the regular
school day overcomes these timing challenges and opens
school breakfast to more students. Schools can increase
breakfast participation and consumption by implementing:
breakfast in the classroom, “grab and go,” and second
chance breakfast.
Innovative service models are not limited to school
breakfast — a combination of service lines and kiosks
at lunch time can help reduce the amount of time that
students have to stand in line, increase participation, and
give students more time to eat. While cafeteria service
lines remain the most commonly used venue for serving
school lunch, the School Nutrition Association finds that
“grab and go” kiosks inside or outside the cafeteria at
lunch are on the rise, especially in large school districts.
5
Oer Meals to All Students at No Charge
More students are able to participate in — and therefore
consume — school meals if barriers around payment are
eliminated. Many high-poverty schools are able to oer
free breakfast and lunch to all students, which helps
remove the stigma that is often associated with school
meals, opens the program to children from families who
may struggle to pay the reduced-price copayment or
the paid charges, and streamlines the implementation of
breakfast after the bell service models. Because these
provisions allow all students to eat at no cost for breakfast,
lunch, or both, participating schools and districts do not
have to contend with unpaid school meal debt. This
eliminates the “shaming” of students who do not have
sucient funds to cover the costs of their meals. Schools
can oer free breakfast and lunch to all students through
options, such as community eligibility or Provision 2.
Eliminate the Reduced-Price Copayment
School districts that determine it is not financially viable to
oer free meals to all students can consider eliminating
the reduced-price copay for breakfast, lunch, or both
meals. The cost to eliminate reduced-price copayments
can be applied to the school nutrition account, and, for
many schools, the increase in participation makes it a
financially viable option.
Expand Accessibility to School Meals
5
School Nutrition Association. (2018). School Nutrition Operations Report. This source is available to the public for purchase at
http://schoolnutrition.org/Publications/Bookstore/.
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 7
T
here are many ways schools can improve the
appeal of meals served in schools so students are
more likely to consume all components. Students
may be less inclined to consume all components of their
meals if menu items are not visually appealing or do not
reflect students’ preferences. Well-planned menus take
time and careful consideration, but are crucial to the
success of a school’s meals programs.
Customize Entrée Options
Menus that oer multiple choices and customizable meals
can encourage greater consumption. Students, especially
at the secondary school level, enjoy having the choice of
dierent entrées or personalizing their meals at “build-
your-own” stations.
n Cincinnati Public Schools (Ohio) allows students to
customize their salads and foods at a “flavor station”
that includes non-salt spices and herbs. Adding
garnishes, like sliced tomatoes to pasta or topping
burritos with fresh cilantro, also can help increase
appeal.
n The District of Columbia Public Schools (Washington,
D.C.) has started a fusion bar at some of its high schools
that serve made-to-order bowls inspired by a local fast-
casual restaurant.
Reflect Student’s Cultural Backgrounds
Oering foods and flavors that students traditionally eat
at home can encourage consumption, and school meals
provide an opportunity for children to try new foods and
learn about the cultures of their peers. Providing samples
of dierent cultural foods before adding the item to the
menus creates awareness, builds familiarity, and allows
students to experience and develop a palate for trying
new foods.
n Minneapolis Public Schools (Minnesota) taste-tested
50,000 samples of Korean kimchi, Moroccan freekeh,
and Indian chana masala dishes at 46 schools before
adding them to the menu.
n Baldwin-Whitehall Schools (Pennsylvania) has one
of the largest percentages of refugees in the state.
While students were taking meals, foods, like pastas
and pizza, were not being consumed, and instead
were thrown away because students were unfamiliar
with these items. The school’s nutrition department
researched new recipes over summer break to feature
more of the familiar traditional dishes and flavors their
students enjoy at home. As a result, consumption
increased at the middle and high school levels.
Integrate Scratch-Cooking
A growing number of schools are moving away from
prepackaged and processed items and incorporating
scratch-cooking with fresh ingredients into their school
meals. Transitioning to scratch-cooking requires careful
planning and an assessment of the district’s kitchens.
Incorporating scratch-cooking largely depends on the
district’s kitchen and sta capacity because it requires a
well-equipped kitchen and cafeteria sta to perform basic
culinary skills and techniques. There are several training
programs through local community colleges or technical
schools and grants available to help food service sta
obtain the culinary skills necessary for scratch-cooking
kitchens. To ease the transition, school districts can start
with scratch-cooking meals a few times a week and grow
from there.
n Minneapolis Public Schools (Minnesota) invested in its
sta by oering culinary classes and prep-cook training
on knife skills and other culinary techniques to support
its move to scratch-cooking. The school district shares
some of these recipes here.
n Austin Independent School District (Texas) employs a
full-time executive chef to develop recipes, which are
carried out by sta who are skilled in preparing dishes
from scratch.
Increase the Appeal of School Meals
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 8
Improve Meal Quality and Presentation
Serving high-quality meals is an important way to increase
consumption in the school meals programs. Schools can
improve the quality of meals they serve by incorporating
fresh, ripe seasonal fruits and vegetables. Research has
shown that salad bars in particular are an eective way to
increase consumption of fruits and vegetables in schools.
6
Schools can display high-quality, seasonal fruit in attractive
baskets or bowls in the serving line as an appealing way
to increase consumption, or oer pre-sliced or sectioned
fresh fruit and vegetables to ease consumption. Smoothies
are a nutritious, fast breakfast option that work well with
school breakfast “grab and go” carts and are a great
way to increase consumption of fruits, vegetables, and
milk. Find creative marketing resources and recipes for
smoothies that include fresh fruits and milk.
To maintain the high-quality of their meals, schools should
ensure they have appropriate equipment to keep meals
hot or cold in food service lines and salad bars, or when
transporting breakfast items to the classroom or on kiosks.
Studies have shown that students prefer the colder
temperature of milk available from the higher quality
refrigeration of milk-dispensing machines, which operate
similarly to a soda fountain machine.
7
Schools should
reach out to their dairy provider to see if they are able
to oer bulk milk purchasing for these dispensers. New
England Dairy and Food Council shares additional creative
tips to encourage the consumption of milk in schools.
n Orange County Public Schools (Florida) is piloting milk-
dispensing machines at some of its high schools, which
oer a selection of fresh, cold low-fat milk. Students
favor these machines over milk cartons because
it keeps the milk more chilled and students enjoy
independently filling their cups.
n Cincinnati Public Schools (Ohio) oers a salad bar in
each of its schools, something that the district phased-in
over time. Salad bars have become a way to introduce
students to new vegetables, and as an ongoing way to
improve selections, students provide their feedback on
what new vegetables they would like to have included.
Use Farm-to-School and Locally
Sourced Items
Purchasing locally aords schools an opportunity to
enhance their meals program with farm-fresh foods,
develop and reinforce healthy eating habits through farm-
to-school activities, and build important relationships within
the community through local farmers and producers. Using
locally sourced foods boosts the quality of a school’s
meals programs, and participation in farm-to-school
activities has been linked to increased fruit and vegetable
consumption and a willingness among students to try
new, healthier foods.
8
School nutrition departments have
flexibility in sourcing where their food comes from and
many are participating in farm-to-school programs — in
2015, over 42,000 schools nationwide had implemented
programs. Milk is one of the most commonly locally
sourced products in school meals, and farm-to-school
programs oer opportunities for students to visit local
dairy farms to learn about the milk provided to the school
district. For more information on how to incorporate local
foods, check out FRAC and the American Federation of
Teacher’s Breakfast Blueprint, as well as resources from
the National Farm to School Network.
n Austin Independent School District (Texas) purchases 47
percent of its food from within the state of Texas, which
allows it to oer at least three local menu items every
day as part of its seasonal menus. The district also
partners with Johnson’s Backyard Garden, an Austin-
based farm, to provide vegetables for the entire district.
n Minneapolis Public Schools (Minnesota) serves an
entirely locally sourced meal one Thursday each month.
The district saw a 15 percent increase in participation on
these Thursdays when it first began in 2004.
6
U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2019). Salad Bars in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program (memo).
Available at: https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-files/SP41-2019os.pdf. Accessed on October 9, 2019.
7
National Dairy Council. (2019). Nourish to Flourish: A Progress Report. Available at: https://n2fdata.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/switching-from-milk-
cartons-to-bulk-milk-at-bluestone-elementary-school-final-report.pdf. Accessed on October 9, 2019.
8
National Farm to School Network. (2017). The Benefits of Farm to School. Available at http://www.farmtoschool.org/Resources/BenefitsFactSheet.pdf.
Accessed on October 14, 2019.
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 9
Engage Students to Determine
Menu Preferences
Student taste tests, surveys, culinary competitions, school
meals-related art contests, and student-run gardens are
just a few ways to get students excited about school
meals. Taste tests are a great way to expose students
to new foods and help establish new preferences, and
research shows taste tests correlate with increased fruit
and vegetable intake. To make sure taste tests do not
take away from a student’s time to eat lunch, schools can
place sample cups for students to grab on their way into
the cafeteria or as they wait in line for lunch. Sta should
welcome students as they enter the taste test and explain
the purpose of the event and how students can provide
feedback. For more information on how schools can set
up a fun, successful taste test with students, check out
FRAC and the National Association of Secondary School
Principal’s Secondary School Principals’ Breakfast
after the Bell Toolkit for step-by-step instructions. More
strategies and best practices for engaging students can be
found in Ingredients for Increased Student Engagement,
a resource developed in collaboration with students by the
National Dairy Council, School Nutrition Association, and
Fuel Up to Play 60.
n The Dallas Independent School District (Texas) holds an
annual food festival where vendors and school chefs
share samples of their products to students. Students
record their input on electronic tablets at the festival so
their feedback can be passed along immediately.
n In a recent consumption study, the District of Columbia
Public Schools (Washington, D.C.) prepared a new
vegetable item three dierent ways for students to
sample to gauge student preference before the new
vegetable dish was placed on the menu.
Run Student Contests
Engaging students to get them excited about consuming
school meals can go beyond gathering input on menu
items. Student contests create an opportunity for school
nutrition sta to collaborate with classroom teachers or
school clubs. Students can enter friendly competitions to
produce breakfast or lunch-themed student artwork for
the cafeteria or logos for hallway kiosks. Another way to
get students excited about school meals is to hold student
culinary contests that feature student-developed and
tested recipes on upcoming menus. The U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) provides a how-to-guide on setting
up a student cooking competition.
n Students at Dallas Independent School District (Texas)
are given the opportunity to come up with meal
ideas through two student competitions. The district’s
Breakfast Battle is a marketing competition for students
to develop the most eective advertising strategies to
increase breakfast participation in their high schools.
Students also participate in the Cooking Up Change
challenge, a national competition where students create
new recipes using a set budget. The winner’s recipe is
then added to the menu for the upcoming school year.
Taste tests are a great way to expose students to new foods and help
establish new preferences, and research shows taste tests correlate with
increased fruit and vegetable intake.
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 10
T
he cafeteria is an extension of the classroom
where students have the opportunity to develop
healthy eating habits and socialization skills, and
the cafeteria environment can really make a dierence
in what and how much students eat. Changing the layout
of the cafeteria and the presentation of vegetables and
fruits can help increase consumption of healthier options.
Overcrowding, loud noises, and chaotic lunch lines can
make the environment of the cafeteria uncomfortable for
some students, while well-lit spaces with bright colors,
clean tables, and ample seating contribute to a more
enjoyable experience. Schools do not have to break
the bank when modifying the physical elements of their
cafeterias to enhance the overall environment; many of
these changes can be small-scale. When participation
in breakfast and lunch increases, schools generally see
additional federal reimbursements that can be used for
larger-scale cafeteria improvements.
Manage Cafeteria Trac Flow
Well-designed school dining spaces ensure students get
through lines eciently so they have more time to eat.
Schools can make simple changes to speed up the lunch
lines by creating clear trac patterns in the cafeteria,
expanding the number of available entrée lines, or have
multiple “build-your-own” stations. Strategically placing
menu boards listing available meal options using short,
catchy names or color-coding helps reminds students of
their options and speeds up the process. Cashless point
of sale systems also can help reduce the time spent in
line while eliminating any stigma associated with diering
eligibility statuses.
Reform the Cafeteria Space
Welcoming cafeteria spaces foster a strong sense of
community within the school and can encourage school
meals participation and consumption. Cafeterias can be
painted in school colors or age-appropriate murals that
encourage healthy eating, incorporate nutrition themes,
and feature school mascots. Students can get involved by
helping to paint murals or decorate walls in the cafeterias
with their own artwork and posters. Schools can improve
cafeteria spaces to make them more inviting by emulating
food courts or cafés with booths and round tables. Find
more information and tips in Nourish to Flourish— A Guide
to Redesigning Your Cafeteria.
n Houston County Schools (Georgia) decorated
one elementary school cafeteria (nicknamed the
“Rocketeria”) with space-themed graphics based on the
school’s mascot, the Rockets.
n Minneapolis Public Schools (Minnesota) is redesigning
its cafeterias with the goal of creating pleasant dining
environments for its students. New cafeteria spaces are
bright with natural light and include wall graphics, open
space, and a mix of round and square tables.
Enhance the Cafeteria Environment
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 11
S
trong school nutrition programs are supported by
eective marketing and branding. Incorporating
creative strategies to elevate the school district’s
nutrition programs can help change the perception
of school food by showing parents and students it
is committed to providing fresh, healthy, satisfying
meals. Developmentally appropriate, colorful, and
consistently branded marketing can increase student
meal consumption and encourage students to participate
in the school meals program. Marketing can be done in
numerous ways, from simply getting vocal on social media
and mimicking the marketing techniques of local fast-
casual restaurants, to bigger initiatives, like investing in a
mobile food truck.
Create Awareness Through Marketing
Creating awareness around the program and promoting
positive messaging are successful marketing strategies.
In addition to traditional press releases and written
communication, digital marketing is a fast, easy, and free
way to bring awareness to new breakfast after the bell
programs or changes to meals being served. It’s also
a great way to receive feedback from parents and an
avenue for local vending groups or farms to reach out to
schools. Maintaining a user-friendly website with updated
menus and information is another way school districts
can market their program and reach parents. Schools can
develop creative logos to brand the program as the district
or school’s own that can be placed on all promotional
materials, signs, notices in school newsletters, stickers,
and sta uniforms. To engage students, hold a contest or
ask student groups to submit a logo to be used to promote
the program.
n Orange County Public Schools (Florida) oers a coee-
flavored, low-fat milk beverage as a component of
a reimbursable breakfast or lunch that is marketed
as a coee drink to high school students. The drink
is designed to oer a healthier and more appealing
version of the lattes served at coee chains that
are popular among students, and is an incentive
to purchase a reimbursable meal. It contains eight
ounces of low-fat milk, two ounces of coee, and an
optional two ounces of sugar-free flavoring. These milk
drinks are marketed with descriptions like “Caribbean
Getaway.”
n Houston County Schools (Georgia) worked with an
online company and held a logo design contest, landing
on a “Revved” logo for its breakfast after the bell
program. Menus, breakfast carts, and sta uniforms are
branded with the Revved logo. The school district also
advertises it’s “grab and go” breakfast smoothies by
using a short, catchy logo that resonates with students:
“SIPS: Fresh, Fast, Fun.”
Think Outside the Box
To grow support for school meals and increase
consumption, districts have found success in coming up
with creative solutions to encourage students to eat more
of their meals. Some schools have mimicked the way
fast-casual restaurants package breakfast sandwiches or
serve lattes for morning meals. A growing marketing trend
among school districts is the use of food trucks. Food
trucks can oer a reimbursable meal just as the cafeteria
does, and does so in a way that’s a fun alternative to the
way students normally receive their meals.
n Austin Independent School District (Texas) uses two
food trucks, named by the students “Nacho Average
Food Truck” and “Food 4 Thought,” to generate
excitement, which helps increase overall consumption
at breakfast and lunch.
Market and Brand the School Meals Program
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 12
N
utrition education is an eective way to promote
school meals, increase consumption, encourage
students to develop healthy eating habits, and
connect students with the source of the food and milk
provided at breakfast and lunch. Nutrition education
can simply come in the form of displaying posters in the
cafeteria that promote healthy eating, integrated into
classroom math and science lessons, take place during
student taste tests in the cafeteria, or through samplings
and recipes shared with families at parent nights. School
gardens give students a hands-on learning experience to
learn about the importance of healthy, nutritious food.
See USDA’s Team Nutrition page for free materials to
help schools integrate nutrition education into
classroom learning.
Farm-to-school programs provide a convenient
opportunity to include nutrition instruction on the sourcing
and health benefits of fruits, vegetables, and milk included
in school meals. Schools can invite local dairy farmers to
schools or have students visit nearby farms to encourage
milk consumption as students learn about the nutritious
benefits of drinking milk. For schools who are unable to
make a physical visit to a dairy farm, the National Dairy
Council provides resources and a virtual farm tour that
schools can use as ways to provide nutrition education
from the convenience of the classroom.
W
hen barriers get in the way of students
being able to consume their school meals
completely, schools miss out on the
opportunity to reduce childhood hunger and improve
nutrition among their students. These barriers can be
addressed to encourage and promote the consumption
of school breakfast and lunch, as highlighted throughout
this guide, by restructuring lunch periods; expanding
accessibility to school meals, increasing appeal, marketing
and branding the school meals program, providing robust
nutrition education programs, and enhancing the cafeteria
environment. Schools can begin with implementing one
or more of these strategies to maximize consumption
of school meals so students are able to learn and thrive
throughout the school day.
Provide Robust Nutrition Education
Conclusion
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 13
Appendix
Case Studies Highlighting Best Practices for Reducing Barriers to
School Meals Consumption
Austin Independent
School District
At a Glance
n Located in Austin, Texas
n 80,013 students in 113 schools
n Meals served in 2018–2019: 6.96 million meals
Expand Accessibility
Austin Independent School District (AISD) serves free
breakfast and lunch to all students in 82 of its 113 schools
through community eligibility, and an additional 10 schools
oer breakfast at no charge to all students under Provision
2. Fifty-three of its schools use breakfast after the bell
models to increase participation.
Increase the Appeal of School Meals
Reflect Students’ Cultural Backgrounds
AISD works with locally and regionally recognized chefs
to create global dishes that accommodate the diverse
student body. The district places a focus on introducing
students to more global flavors to increase awareness
of dierent cultures reflected within the school district —
students recently were excited to try baba ghanoush. Its
food trucks have served items from Mexican street tacos
to Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches.
Use Farm-to-School and Locally Sourced Items
The district strongly believes in growing close relationships
with local farms and vendors to expand its local menu
options and reduce logistical challenges. Forty-seven
percent of menu items are sourced from within Texas.
Items include local sandwich bread and hot dog buns
from a nearby bakery, custom-made tortillas from Austin’s
Fiesta Tortilla, and in-season vegetables from Johnson’s
Backyard Garden, an Austin-based farm. Johnson’s
Backyard Garden and AISD have partnered to provide
students with dierent seasonal organic produce once a
week as part of Texas’ Farm Fresh Friday initiative and for
student taste tests. AISD is also piloting organic bulk milk
at some of its schools that is sourced locally.
AISD has teamed up with the Clean Label Project to
eliminate the inclusion of harmful ingredients commonly
found in recipes, such as high fructose corn syrup and
bleached flour. To date, 96 percent of AISD’s recipes meet
the Project’s standards.
Engage Students to Determine Menu
Preferences
Along with annual surveys and frequent taste tests, AISD
encourages students to explore the culinary arts through
their Diced & Sliced Student Culinary Competition, which
allows middle school students to create unique recipes
and present their recipes in front of a panel of judges.
Winning creations are included on the following school
year’s menu.
Market and Brand the School Meals
Program
AISD creates simple, consistent graphics and messaging
to be displayed in each cafeteria to create their “brand.”
The district disseminates consistent messaging
and marketing toolkits to school nutrition sta and
administrators at each school. A well-designed, colorful
menu captures the attention of students and their parents,
so AISD ensures monthly menus at each school are
branded with the same logos to keep things visually
consistent.
To reach the greater school community, the district uses
social media as an easy tool to promote school meals to
students, parents, and the greater school community at no
cost. Using social media has been a great way to connect
with local organizations, who have reached out to the
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 14
district about supporting its school meals programs after
seeing social media posts.
Since food trucks are a large part of Austin’s culture, the
district operates two of their own to get the word out about
its school meals program — named “Nacho Average Food
Truck” and” Food 4 Thought” by AISD’s students. Both
trucks oer reimbursable meals that are not featured in
the cafeteria, which generates excitement around school
lunch and helps increase consumption. Food 4 Thought
regularly make appearances on high school campuses,
and elementary and middle school campuses may request
visits for special events.
Provide Robust Nutrition Education
To teach and get students excited about vegetables and
fruits used in school meals from local farms, AISD holds
an annual art contest for students during October to
acknowledge the use of local produce in school meals.
Selected fruit or vegetable artwork is used as promotional
signage during its Farm Fresh Fridays initiative throughout
the school year.
Cincinnati Public Schools
At a Glance
n Located in Cincinnati, Ohio
n 35,337 students in 65 schools
n Meals served in 2018–2019: 6.95 million meals
Restructure School Lunch Time
Moving recess before lunch has helped Cincinnati
Public Schools (CPS) increase the consumption of fruits,
vegetables, and milk. Administrators were on board to flip
the schedule once they heard about its proven benefits for
calmer lunchrooms and classrooms in the afternoon and
increased food consumption.
9
Expand Accessibility
Breakfast and lunch are oered at no charge to all CPS
students at 52 schools. Breakfast is oered at no charge
to all students through Provision 2 in nine schools and
nonpricing in four schools. CPS has also eliminated the
reduced-price copayments for breakfast and lunch in
schools with traditional claiming. The school district also
oers “grab and go” breakfast in 11 of its schools.
Increase the Appeal of School Meals
The school district adopts a number of best practices to
increase appeal, including the four listed below.
Customize Entrée Options
The nutrition department prioritizes giving students more
choices and options to customize their own meals. School
cafeterias feature a “flavor station” that allows students
to add spices, like crushed red pepper or cumin, to
their meals. This lets students enhance their meals with
additional flavors based on their preferences, allowing
students to feel empowered and more likely to consume
their school meals.
Integrate Scratch-Cooking
CPS’ chef provides additional culinary training to nutrition
department sta so they are prepared to make as many
menu items in-house as possible, like steamed and
roasted vegetables that are sourced locally. This requires
sta to properly learn knife skills, something the chef has
helped sta become trained on. The chef tests recipes
a number of times prior to sending them out to school
kitchen managers at each school to ensure they are “fail
proof.” Having a chef provide advanced culinary training
has boosted morale among sta, who have developed a
sense of pride about their work.
Improve Meal Quality and Presentation
CPS oers a salad bar in each of its schools, something
that the district phased in over time. Salad bars have
become a way to introduce students to new vegetables,
and as an ongoing way to improve selections, students
provide their feedback on what new vegetables they
would like to have included.
Use Farm-to-School and Locally Sourced Items
The district is focusing on local sourcing and recently
adopted the Good Food Purchasing Program. Along with
that, CPS is in the beginning stages of implementing a
9
Montana Oce of Public Instruction. (2018). Recess Before Lunch Guide. Available at: http://www.montana.edu/teamnutrition/documents/RBL%20Entire%20
Guide%202018.pdf. Accessed on October 10, 2019.
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 15
clean label initiative and has a three-year plan to replace
items with soy, artificial coloring, and preservatives. The
biggest changes have been to provide breakfast cereals
that no longer contain artificial coloring or flavors.
Provide Robust Nutrition Education
In order to accommodate so many requests for salad bars,
the school nutrition department prioritized implementation
in schools that integrated strong nutrition education
programs, started school gardens, and incorporated
lessons from USDA’s Team Nutrition page. All schools
now have a salad bar and have maintained strong nutrition
education programs as a result.
Dallas Independent
School District
At a Glance
n Located in Dallas, Texas
n 154,169 students in 224 schools
n Meals served in 2018–2019: 33.1 million meals
Expand Accessibility
Dallas Independent School District (DISD) participates in
community eligibility districtwide, and 109 schools use a
variety of breakfast after the bell models.
Increase the Appeal of School Meals
The school district adopts a number of best practices to
increase appeal, including the three below.
Use Farm-to-School and Locally Sourced Items
DISD is one of the original school districts to join the Urban
School Food Alliance, which has set a goal to increase its
local food purchases by at least 5 percent in the next two
years. Around 20 percent of food purchased for the district
already comes from within the state, including butter
lettuce, black-eyed peas, apples, and fresh milk.
Engage Students to Determine Menu
Preferences
Students are able to sample diverse items from as many
as 14 dierent vendors, as well as chefs from the district’s
own nutrition sta during its annual food festival. All
vendors remain anonymous during the event. Students
record their input on electronic tablets so that feedback
can be passed along to school chefs as they develop
menus for the following school year. The district added
four new dishes to its menu this school year based on
results from its dierent events, including a spicy golden
chicken quinoa quesadilla its culinary students created
during the Cooking Up Change competition, and chicken
jambalaya showcased by one of DISD’s own chefs at the
food festival.
Run Student Contests
Students at DISD are given the opportunity to come up
with meal ideas through two student competitions. One is
its Breakfast Battle, a marketing competition for students
to develop the most eective advertising strategies to
increase breakfast participation in their high schools. DISD
also participates in the Cooking Up Change challenge, a
national competition where students create new recipes
using a set budget. The winner’s recipe is then added to
the menu for the upcoming school year.
Provide Robust Nutrition Education
To encourage consumption, DISD selects a dierent
fruit or vegetable each month to serve in schools and
incorporate into nutrition education as part of its Harvest
of the Month program. Students learn about the local farm
and farmer the item was grown by, the growing process,
and the nutritional value of the selected fruit or vegetable.
District of Columbia
Public Schools
At a Glance
n Located in Washington, D.C.
n 49,056 students in 115 schools
n Meals served in 2018-2019: 7.97 million meals
Expand Accessibility
All schools in the District of Columbia Public Schools oer
breakfast for free to all students, with 85 oering free
breakfast and lunch to all students through community
eligibility. To increase access, the school district oers
breakfast in the classroom in 52 of its schools.
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 16
Increase the Appeal of School Meals
The school district’s Food and Nutrition Services (FNS)
adopts a number of best practices to increase appeal,
including the three listed below.
Customize Entrée Options
At some of its high schools, FNS has started a new fusion
bar that serves culturally relevant, made-to-order rice-
based bowls inspired by a local fast-casual restaurant.
Use Farm-to-School and Locally Sourced Items
The school district recently adopted the Good Food
Purchasing Program, which leads the school district to
improve their food procurement practices to provide
more local, healthy, and sustainably sourced options — at
least 20 percent of all produce or food products used
in its school meals must be grown or processed in the
Mid-Atlantic region. In recent years, apples, greens (such
as collards and kale), peaches, corn, and sweet potatoes
have been locally sourced. The school district already
featured fresh salad greens at lunch from local farmers
from Virginia or Maryland, paired with locally sourced
strawberries, to improve vegetable and fruit consumption
among students.
Engage Students to Determine Menu
Preferences
FNS has conducted taste tests with students for many
years, which is used to guide menu development,
particularly for new vegetable recipes. In a recent
consumption study, students were able to try a new
vegetable cooked three dierent ways before voting on
their favorite option. Responding to students’ requests,
FNS added five new vegetarian and vegan options
through its vendor that serves a majority of its schools.
The school district also engages parents through
its School Food Collaborative because they are a
huge component of participation and can encourage
their children to try school meals. The School Food
Collaborative is made up of parents, students, food service
sta, teachers, and nonprofit partners and meets quarterly
throughout the school year. It also invites the public to
partake in a collaborative process with the school district’s
food service providers. The meetings are popular in the
community — there have typically been between 80 and
150 participants at each one.
Enhance the Cafeteria Environment
FNS has maximized its partnerships by using a nearby
university to look at the cafeteria environment and how
this aects consumption. This included an environmental
study to look at trac patterns within the cafeterias. FNS is
continuing to look at reconfiguring school cafeteria lunch
lines so students can quickly move through the line and
spend more time eating, not waiting.
Houston County
Public Schools
At a Gance
n Located in Perry, Georgia
n 29,770 students in 37 schools
n Meals served in 2018–2019: 5.7 million meals
Expand Accessibility
Nineteen of Houston County Schools (HCBOE) oer free
meals to all students through community eligibility. The
school district has implemented breakfast in the classroom
in 21 of its schools.
Increase the Appeal of School Meals
The school district operates a seasonal two-week menu
and is moving toward more scratch-cooking, including
hiring a skilled chef. It is using versatile products and test
kitchens for recipe development, which has allowed it
to even make spice blends in house. The next step is
educating students on new oerings, and boasting about
items that are on trend for students, such as homemade
pico de gallo for burrito bowls.
Market and Brand the School
Meals Program
HCBOE maintains a strong social media platform to get
the word out about its school meals, and to communicate
with parents and the community on the food it’s oering
students. As part of their ongoing customer service
initiative, parents are able to submit a message or post a
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 17
comment and receive an immediate response regarding
their question or concern. The nutrition department
gathers feedback from parents and the community, which
plays an important role in marketing some of its initiatives,
like its “Revved” (“grab and go”) breakfast program and
“SIPS,” a quick-serve breakfast where students can easily
grab smoothies from carts in the hallway. Both of these
programs are branded with catchy and fun logos that the
district developed through an online company.
Enhance the Cafeteria Environment
HCBOE worked through its 37 school buildings to
redesign its school cafeterias, redesigning on average
about two schools each year as the budget allowed.
The school district wanted each common eating place
to be a sense of pride for students and sta, so giving
a fresh facelift to the cafeterias at each school was a
priority. These dining spaces were painted with vibrant,
eye-catching designs, such as the transformation of
one elementary school’s cafeteria into a “Rocketeria,”
which features a fun space-related theme that is based
on the school’s mascot and highlights the importance of
healthy meals and physical activity. Each school features a
dierent theme, as well as a variety of tables and seating
arrangements that are based on the grade levels served
(i.e., high-top tables or booths for high schools).
After principals expressed concerns over long wait-times,
the district piloted a cashless point of sale system in its
non-community eligibility schools to speed up lines at
lunch and at “grab and go” kiosks during breakfast. To
address other trac-flow issues, HCBOE strategically
places its popular items in dierent lines to control trac
in its high schools, while in its middle schools it oers the
same choices in multiple lines.
Minneapolis Public Schools
At a Glance
n Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota
n 35,546 students in 85 schools
n Meals served in 2018–2019: 5.6 million meals
Restructure School Lunch Time
To increase consumption, Minneapolis Public Schools
(MPS) encourages schools to provide enough time to
eat lunch and has adopted a schoolwide policy to allow
elementary students to have 50 minutes for lunch and
recess combined. Previously, schools allotted only 30
minutes, resulting in students rushing through lunch to get
to recess and consuming fewer components of their meals
as a result. The district’s wellness policy also encourages
schools to schedule recess before lunch, which has grown
in popularity as a best practice across the district. Today,
70 percent of schools schedule recess before lunch, up
from just 7 percent in 2007.
Expand Accessibility
MPS participates in community eligibility in 38 of its
schools. The school district oers free breakfast through
Provision 2 in 25 of its schools and nonpricing in nine of
its schools. The district has eliminated its reduced-price
copayment fees in all of its schools for both breakfast and
lunch to increase access to students. MPS implements a
combination of breakfast after the bell models throughout
the district in 33 of its schools.
Increase the Appeal of School Meals
The school district adopts a number of best practices to
increase appeal, including the four below.
Customize Entrée Options
The district has noticed that many students enjoy
customizing their own meals, and that when students have
enticing options at the market carts, they are more likely
to consume more of their meals. MPS first began installing
self-service salad bars called “market carts” that allowed
students to customize a healthy meal.
Reflect Students’ Cultural Backgrounds
MPS taste-tested 50,000 samples of Korean kimchi,
Moroccan freekeh, and Indian chana masala dishes at 46
schools before adding them to the menu to introduce its
students to more global flavors.
Integrate Scratch-Cooking
MPS began shifting to scratch-cooking in many of its
schools as funds allowed, which resulted in 33 school
FRAC n Reducing Barriers to Consuming School Meals n www.FRAC.org n twitter @fractweets 18
kitchens undergoing major renovations. The district plans
to have on-site cooking in all schools by the 2025–2026
school year. The district is providing healthy, delicious
meals to its students and has been able to reap savings
by moving away from more costly prepackaged foods to
bulk-purchasing of fresh ingredients, which has helped
bolster the school nutrition department’s finances. To ease
the transition to scratch-cooking for cafeteria sta, MPS
invests in its sta by oering culinary classes and prep-
cook training.
Engage Students to Determine Menu
Preferences
MPS exposes students to new flavors and foods to
build more exploratory eating habits and encourage
consumption. Three times each school year, the nutrition
department hosts a “True Foods” taste test during lunch
for over 20,000 students. The most recent taste test
featured a ginger soy pasta salad — a flavorful and fresh
pasta salad featuring carrots, peppers, edamame, and
the district’s signature Sun Dragon Dressing — for
students to try.
Market and Brand the School Meals
Program
MPS markets its school meals program with its “True
Foods” logo to let students and their families know that
the district is committed to increasing access to high-
quality food that is locally sourced, and no longer contains
high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, and artificial colors or
preservatives going forward.
Provide Robust Nutrition Education
The True Foods taste tests provide the perfect opportunity
to incorporate the new foods into nutrition education
components. The district provides a plethora of resources,
including the recipe for parents to try at home, posters to
hang up at school, outreach language for school sta to
announce the upcoming taste test, and ideas for themed
lesson plans that are tied to the taste-tested item.
Enhance the Cafeteria Environment
MPS believes that creating a positive eating environment
also is important for improving consumption. The district
has looked at the results of lowering noise levels at one
school: teachers have begun dimming the lights and
requesting quiet during the last five minutes of each lunch
period as a way to refocus students to concentrate on
finishing their meal. The district also is looking at how to
ease trac flow and expedite lines in its cafeterias.
