Staff shortages, rising costs and family meal debt are the biggest challenges that school food service faces according to a survey that also finds that staff have confidence that healthy ingredients are being served.
Districts, on average, gave their nutrition operations a “B” for performance, with large school systems ranking themselves higher than their smaller counterparts, according to the 2023 K12 Nutrition Survey Report from LINQ, a developer of K12 business operations software.
However, more than three-quarters of the staff surveyed are worried about tightening K12 food service budgets while a majority are also concerned about rising costs.
Districts gave themselves the lowest marks for managing meal debt and hiring and retaining food service staff. Overall, districts with a high degree of automation in their nutrition operations were more likely to rate themselves as excellent.
The future of school food
Here are the major school problems identified in the LINQ survey and details about potential solutions:
Problem: School food prices rose by 296% from April 2022 to April 2023, far higher than the overall 7.7% uptick in overall food costs.
Solutions: Districts should provide families with easier ways to pay for meals. Revenues can also be raised by selling à la carte items, vending and catering. The Community Eligibility Provision can be another source of higher reimbursements if students are eligible.
Problem: 52% said staff shortages have hurt their nutrition program’s ability to operate efficiently
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Solution: K-12 nutrition departments should streamline food service operations by investing in equipment or software that takes the guesswork out of menu planning. And simplifying management and reporting gives staff more time to focus on the most rewarding parts of their jobs. Short-term solutions include offering signing bonuses to cafeteria workers and hiring students part-time to cover vacancies.
Problem: New nutritional regulations are a concern, with restrictions on flavored milk and sodium levels at the top of the list. For instance, 73% of survey respondents had a negative view of allowing only unflavored milk for grades K-8.
Solution: Making meals from scratch, also known as “scratch cooking,” gives cafeteria staff more control over ingredients and recipes that meet nutritional requirements. The practice, however, also requires a large staff. Many districts remain confident they can serve reimbursable meals that meet the new rules, which are expected to be released in April 2024.
