Prevalence of Evidence-Based School Meal Practices and Associations with Reported Food Waste across a National Sample of U.S. Elementary Schools
Open accessAbstract
Providing meals at school is an important part of the hunger safety net for children in the United States and worldwide; however, many children do not receive school meals even when they qualify for federally-subsidized free or reduced-priced meals. This study investigates the prevalence of several evidence-based practices that have previously been shown to increase the reach and impact of school meals. A survey was sent to a national sample of US elementary schools, with items examining practices regarding school breakfast, school lunch, recess, the promotion of meals, nutrition standards, and food waste, during the 2019–20 school year. Almost all schools that offered lunch also offered breakfast. More than 50% used a breakfast service strategy other than cafeteria service, such as grab-and-go breakfast meals. Providing at least 30 min for lunch periods and providing recess before lunch were reported by less than half of schools. About 50% of schools reported using only one or fewer meal promotional strategies (such as taste tests) throughout the school year. Use of more promotional strategies was associated with less reported food waste in a multivariable regression model accounting for school demographic characteristics. Findings show that some evidence-based practices for school meals are being implemented, but many recommendations are not being widely adopted.
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Less than half of schools in the U.S. reported a minimum of 30 min of scheduled lunch.
“less than half of schools in the U.S. reported a minimum of 30 min of scheduled lunch [21]”
From When to Eat and When to Play: Variations in Recess and Lunch Scheduling Within a State 40‐Min Recess Policy (2025) · cites this paper as [21]
The Discussion reports that 61% of respondents said their school’s third-grade lunch period lasted less than 30 minutes, supporting the ‘less than half’ figure. But the study surveyed U.S. elementary schools and asked specifically about third-grade lunch; the claim broadens this to U.S. schools generally. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredA 30-min scheduled lunch period is recommended to achieve 20 min of seat time.
“A 30‐min scheduled lunch period is recommended to achieve 20 min of seat time, and less than half of schools in the U.S. reported a minimum of 30 min of scheduled lunch [21].”
From When to Eat and When to Play: Variations in Recess and Lunch Scheduling Within a State 40‐Min Recess Policy (2025) · cites this paper as [21]
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- Authors
- Calvert, H. G., Ohri-Vachaspati, P., McQuilkin, M., Boedeker, P., & Turner, L.
- Affiliations
- Boise State University (US)
- College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
- Corresponding author
- Turner, Lindsey
- Venue
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2021-08-13
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 16
- Pages
- 8558
- ISSN
- 1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8393708
- OpenAlex
- W3195335362
- Cited by
- 8
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1
- FWCI
- 1.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Scholar Works (Boise State University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (HER 76291)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Keywords
- school meals, food waste, evidence-based practice, elementary school, school breakfast, recess, nutritional standards, free and reduced-price meals, child hunger
- MeSH terms
- Child, Food Services, Humans, Refuse Disposal, Schools, United States, Prevalence, Meals, Lunch
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