Dive Brief:
- Nearly all — 95% — of school food service authorities reported they experienced at least one type of supply chain challenge during the 2023-24 school year, according to survey data released in December by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- The top three supply chain issues schools most frequently faced were related to high food costs, staffing shortages and product shortages, the USDA found.
- Still, the USDA report said there were some improvements in certain supply chain issues compared to the prior school year. For instance, fewer school food service authorities reported issues with the high cost or limited availability of food service materials — dropping from 67% to 42% between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.
Dive Insight:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, school cafeterias were hit with rising costs and product shortages due to inflation and supply chain challenges.
The latest USDA data shows signs that some of those operational challenges for school food service authorities could be easing.
In 2023-24, schools were less likely to report issues with an increase in overall nutrition program costs, a rise in staff stress or workload, drops in student meal participation, and difficulties complying with meal pattern requirements compared to the previous school year, according to USDA.
“Overall, these results show that in many ways, the supply chain has improved over the past three school years,” the USDA said in a December news release. “Yet, schools still need support to overcome any challenge that might stand in the way of them serving nutritious meals to students.”
Nearly 13,300 school food service authorities responded to USDA’s survey. That represents 71% of school food service authorities nationwide.
The USDA findings also confirm an ongoing trend — K-12 food service staffing is a struggle. In fact, the agency found that 57% of schools reported facing food service staffing shortages in 2023-24, the same rate as the year prior.
To curb staffing challenges, school nutrition leaders have previously recommended that districts consider dedicating a role solely for hiring school nutrition staff. Other districts have tried different approaches such as offering bonuses to staff and managers to promote recruitment and retention in school cafeterias.
There was also a recent and notable decline in the percentage of school food service authorities that reported operating at a surplus or breaking even, with 72% reporting so at the end of the 2022-23 school year, according to USDA. That’s a 10 percentage-point drop from the previous year.
The USDA findings also back up overall fears raised by the School Nutrition Association, which reported in January 2024 that 92% of school nutrition directors expressed serious or moderate concern about the financial sustainability of their programs within the next several years.
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