Nutrients, Environmental Sustainability, and Cost of the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program in the United States: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011-2018

Abstract

Background United States (U.S.) school meal programs serve billions of meals annually; however, little is known about their environmental impacts. Objective This study estimated the daily greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE), water scarcity footprint (WSF), and food cost associated with the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) Programs and modeled the association of food substitutions and food waste reduction. Design A cross-sectional analysis of day-1 dietary intake in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2011-2018. Participants/Setting Participants included 796 children and adolescents from pre-Kindergarten to grade 12 who consumed breakfast or lunch on a weekday from a school cafeteria that met the minimum standard for an eligible meal. Main outcome measures The main outcomes were per capita nutrient intake, GHGE, WSF, and food cost. Statistical analyses performed Differences in mean impacts and between baseline and two modeled scenarios (food substitutions, food waste reductions) were evaluated using paired Wald tests. Results Daily per capita GHGE, WSF, and food cost for school food programs (NSLP + SBP) was 1.69 kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) (95% CI: 1.55-1.84 kg CO2eq), 10.23 L eq×102 (9.20-11.27 L eq×102), and USD $3.70 ($3.39-4.00), respectively. Dairy (mainly cow’s milk) and protein foods (mainly beef) were the largest contributors to GHGE. Fruit was the largest contributor to the WSF. Modeled food substitutions significantly reduced GHGE by 14-25% and WSF by 11-14% for the school meal programs. There were mixed effects on food cost (-2% to 6% change) and nutrient intake. Modeled food waste reductions of 5% were associated with a 1% decrease in GHGE, WSF, and food costs. Conclusions The NSLP and SBP are critical to child nutrition, and food substitution and food waste reduction strategies can lower their environmental footprint with manageable impacts on nutrition quality