School Meals Building Blocks for Healthy Children (2010) / Chapter Skim
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8 Food Cost Implications and Market Effects
8 Food Cost Implications and Market Effects
Pages 131-154
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From page 131... ...
CHANGES IN AMOUNTS AND TYPES OF FOOD A change in the Meal Requirements could have a major effect on the cost of food to School Food Authorities (SFAs) if there are large changes in the types and amounts of foods required by the standards for menu planning and the standards for meals as selected.
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From page 132... ...
the prices of the individual food items used in each meal. Data from recent, nationally representative school surveys were used in establishing the representative baseline menus and the food costs used in this report.
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From page 133... ...
cRecommended portion sizes under the Traditional Food-Based Menu planning approach. dOptional grade configuration.
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From page 134... ...
Compared the cost of the food in the set of six 5-day modified baseline menus to the subset of six 5-day representative baseline menus to assess likely effects of the proposed changes on food costs for reimbursable meals. The subset included the traditional food-based menus only.
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From page 135... ...
. Because the matching between the SNDA-III and SLBCS-II food items was not complete, it was necessary to develop additional food price information for food items included in the representative baseline menus and the modified baseline menus.
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From page 136... ...
The rates that were used in the second analysis appear in Table L-7 in Appendix L For both the representative and the modified baseline menus, the cost of the breakfast meal and lunch meal was estimated both by school level (elementary, middle, and high school)
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From page 137... ...
Food Costs of Modified Baseline Menus Compared with Representative Baseline Menus The modified baseline food costs were compared with the appropriate baseline food costs as offered and as reimbursed. To evaluate the effect of the recommended Meal Requirements, the cost of the modified baseline menus was compared to the cost of the food-based representative baseline menu.
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From page 138... ...
Cost (%) Meal Level Offered Reimbursedc Offered Reimbursedc Offered Reimbursedc Offered Reimbursedc,d,e Breakfast Elementary 0.67 0.64 0.74 0.72 0.81 0.69 108.3 95.6 Middle 0.59 0.58 0.53 0.50 0.81 0.65 151.5 130.9 High 0.70 0.59 0.54 0.56 1.03 0.82 189.0 146.2 Total (unweighted)
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From page 139... ...
The more limited selections at the elementary school level result in similar costs for the modified baseline menus. gMean food costs for meals across grade levels weighted by average meals served.
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From page 140... ...
• The food cost for the high school lunch meal increased more than the cost of the elementary and middle school meals. The addition of more fruit and vegetables, more varied vegetables, and whole grain-rich foods (especially at the high school level)
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From page 141... ...
There is no change between the baseline menus and modified baseline costs as offered because the menus themselves for this comparison do not change, only the student selection. When students select more fruits at breakfast, the food cost of the meal is significantly higher than the baseline values.
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From page 142... ...
Any additional offering would have the effect of increasing the foods, nutrients, and costs of the representative baseline menus. Also, the estimated costs are based on food item costs BOX 8-1 Reasons for Change in Estimated Food Costs of School Meals Assuming the Adoption of the Recommended Meal Requirements Addition of fruits and vegetables, and additional meat or meat alternatea • • Fruit serving (about $0.14–0.15 per serving)
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From page 143... ...
Importantly, changes in the relative importance of food items that occur through the menu modifications also affect the estimated changes in food costs and hence the committee's estimates of the percentage changes. The effect of changes in food prices is discussed in the next section.
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From page 144... ...
The Kansas City Commodity Office purchases grain products including pasta, processed cereal, flours, crackers, ready-to-eat cereal, rice products, corn products, and miscellaneous dairy products; and it facilitates food distribution and multifood warehouse contracts. USDA Foods As mentioned in the bulleted list above, the use of USDA foods affects the food costs for SFAs.
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From page 145... ...
. For more than 60 percent of the SFAs, USDA foods accounted for at least 10 percent of total food costs.
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From page 146... ...
6.7 4.4 1.8 Fresh F&V 7.7 3.3 –4.1 Processed F&V 2.9 8.4 9.9 NOTES: Adjustment for 2007–2008 School Meal Programs was 4.272 percent. This percentage change differs from the number for Food away from home reported here (4.256 percent)
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From page 147... ...
For the average SFA, the national mean reported SFA costs of producing a reimbursable breakfast and a reimbursable lunch and the mean meal cost of the SBP and NSLP meals are shown in Table 8-7. The table does not provide data on the variability of meal costs, which may be substantial TABLE 8-7 Comparison of the Reported Costs of Producing a Reimbursable Meal, SBP and NSLP, by Unit of Analysis, 2005–2006 School Year SBP NSLP Type of Cost Mean SFA Cost Mean Meal Cost Mean SFA Cost Mean Meal Cost Reporteda $1.92 $1.46 $2.36 $2.28 Food $0.73 $0.65 $1.09 $0.98 Labor $1.02 $0.64 $1.05 $1.04 Other $0.17 $0.17 $0.23 $0.25 NOTES: NSLP = National School Lunch Program; SBP = School Breakfast Program; SFA = School Food Authority.
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From page 148... ...
Hence, for planning purposes, there may be considerable variability in costs on a specific day or week. Changes in the Distribution of Costs of Preparing Reimbursable Meals One possible approach to offering school meals that meet the recommended standards for menu planning is to introduce more on-site food preparation.
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From page 149... ...
Changes in student participation in the school meal programs have not been addressed in the analysis of costs presented here. OVERALL IMPACT OF THE RECOMMENDED MEAL REQUIREMENTS ON THE COSTS OF SCHOOL MEALS The food cost analyses clearly indicate that the recommended changes in the Meal Requirements increase the cost of the food used in school meals.
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From page 150... ...
in order to meet Dietary Guidelines. Table 8-8 provides values for an upper bound of assumed changes in the amounts of foods recommended by food type, for a 5-day school week, for the purpose of assessing market effects.
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From page 151... ...
aThe assumed changes were used to guide qualitative assessment of market effects. bThese are recommended amounts offered for breakfast.
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From page 152... ...
Of greater concern is the relative lack of available whole grain-rich processed products on the market and acceptable in the school meals program. Hence some cost increases would be expected for the less available processed whole grainrich products in the market.
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From page 153... ...
. SUMMARY To examine the expected change in food costs of offering menus consistent with the recommended standards for menu planning, the committee compared the estimated cost of modified baseline menus with those of representative baseline menus, using likely take-up rates for the modified menus.
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