In a new study published in the Journal of School Health, researchers sought to understand food service directors’ perceptions of why some students were not participating in school meals even when they were served free of charge to all public school students in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. In spring 2022, nearly 600 foodservice directors in California and Maine participated in surveys or interviews on perceptions of students’ preferences. Results showed the top barriers to school meal participation were perceived to be students’ preferences to eat meals from home or elsewhere and students' negative perceptions of the taste of school foods. Other barriers included inadequate time to eat lunch, social stigma related to eating school meals, and long lunch lines. Food service directors from schools with smaller student enrollment and those previously utilizing community eligibility provision—which allows high-poverty schools to offer free meals to all students without requiring individual household applications—reported fewer barriers. Study findings identified areas for improvement, including that schools continue to partner with students to optimize the school meal experience and to improve school food taste. The study was conducted by researchers from New York University, the Nutrition Policy Institute, Merrimack College, Center for Health Inclusion, Research and Practice, Arizona State University, Stanford University, Partnership for a Healthier America, University of Connecticut’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health, University of New England and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study was supported by Share Our Strength and California General Fund SB 170. Learn more about Nutrition Policy Institute’s universal school meal research.
