A new study from NYU Steinhardt Assistant Professor Deborah Olarte found that teachers perceived no benefits to ending free school meals for all students.
How did students’ diets and behavior change after the expiration of a pandemic-era universal free school meal program in 2022? Researchers asked teachers for their observations on the impact on students, and found that teachers perceived more student hunger and stress, increased consumption of junk foods, and reduced focus in the classroom, among the negative outcomes.
“Teachers are first-hand observers of the impact school meal policies have on children. Participation data can tell us that fewer students ate lunch, but teachers can tell us why a student did, or did not eat and how it presented in the classroom,” says Deborah Olarte, the study's lead author and assistant professor of Nutrition at Steinhardt. “Universal free school meals removed a worry from the school day. When they went away, the worry came back, and teachers watched it play out in their classrooms.”
Researchers interviewed 25 teachers in the Anchorage School District in Alaska, asking them to compare the 2021–2022 year when their schools participated in the universal meal program—a federal program which provided meals to all students, regardless of economic need—to 2022–2023 after the program ended. They asked questions focused on the benefits and challenges of offering free meals to students. The article is published in Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
“I think the kids who would be shy about saying that they’re hungry or don’t have lunch didn’t have to worry about it because it was just provided,” one teacher shared.
After the program’s expiration, teachers shared these observations:
- Increased student hunger
- More frequent behavioral issues among students
- Students had more difficulty concentrating
- Increased student anxiety about paying for meals
- Teachers were more likely to provide food for students
- Increased consumption of sugary snacks and beverages, and ultra-processed foods
- Decreased meal participation, particularly among students eligible for free meals
During the universal meal plan, teachers perceived the following:
- Reduced student and family stress
- Increased food waste among students
According to one teacher, “Some kids...they’re just hungry all afternoon and can’t focus, and again disruptive behaviors happen.”
“Teachers gave us one window into this policy shift. We should also include the voices of students, parents, administrators, and food service staff across different districts and states,” Olarte says. “But what stayed with me from these interviews is how much of school meal policy lands on teachers who were buying snacks, cleaning up, etc. I think it's important to focus on how the burden school meal programs place on educators may shape families' decisions to participate in school meals.”
Funding for this study was provided by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD107492).
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