Between the release in January of the final rule on nutrition standards for school meals and the anticipated release of a proposed rule on nutrition standards for competitive foods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued an interesting report that gives a snapshot of dairy products acquired by schools for both meals and competitive sales. The School Food Purchase Study-III is the third in a series of studies that provides national estimates of the amount and monetary value of foods and beverages acquired by public schools for school meals and for competitive food sales.  This study is based on data collected during the 2009-2010 school year, and it can provide some comparisons to the last time the study was conducted, during the 1996-1997 school year.

A La Carte, or Competitive, Food Sales

More than 80 percent of school districts sell a la carte items in their school cafeterias, allowing more than 91 percent of students to purchase a la carte foods and beverages.  A la carte items are more common in middle and high schools than they are in elementary schools, and are more likely to be sold during lunch periods, rather than during breakfast. A la carte sales are big business for school food service programs—more than $2 billion in sales, averaging annual revenue of more than $50 per student.  This income often helps to offset monetary losses in other parts of the food service program, allowing programs to break-even or make a profit, which they are required to do in many school districts. Dairy products are a significant factor in a la carte sales.  Milk, ice cream and pizza (including cheese as a major ingredient) are in the top 10 best-selling items through a la carte.  In elementary schools, milk ranks second and ice cream is the third top-selling a la carte item, while pizza is the number 4 top selling item.  For middle and high schools, pizza rises to the number 3 best-seller, while ice cream and milk fall to number 5 and number 10, respectively.  While milk is the most popular a la carte beverage in elementary schools, it is the 4th most popular in middle and high schools, selling less than water, sport drinks and juice.

Future changes

USDA will be issuing a proposed rule soon to set nutritional standards for competitive foods sold in schools, including a la carte sales as well as items sold in vending machines and school stores.  We expect the proposal to be based on the Institute of Medicine report issued in 2007, but there could be significant changes from that report.  If many of the restrictions on fat, sodium and added sugar are kept from the report, that could keep many dairy products out of schools.  If a wider variety of competitive beverages are allowed, a la carte sales of milk could decline. IDFA’s Nutrition Working Group will be reviewing the proposed rule when it is released and drafting comments to USDA.  If you’d like to be part of that discussion, please let me know at amfoodnutrition@gmail.com.