Finances

We all know: budgets drive everything. Universal Meals can generate more revenue for your food service program, due to both the free reimbursement rate and an opportunity to gain new customers. Since the USDA pays for the meals (instead of students paying), many school food programs should be able to avoid lunch balance debt this year. The more meals you can serve, the more reimbursement your program will receive.

Additionally, since there are no financial obligations for students, Universal Meals can eliminate the stigma tied to eating meals at school. Every student can eat a school meal without worrying about family finances, debt, or possible “lunch shaming.” This is a huge step forward in creating a more equitable program.

Here are a few ideas:

• If your district has a communications department, work with them to share frequently about Universal Meals.
• Place Universal Meals language front and center on the district’s website, and make sure it communicates that all meals will be free for the entire school year.
• Send a back-to-school newsletter or email blast to parents about Universal Meals, to encourage their children to participate in the school food program. Include links to your menu and pictures of appealing menu items.
• Promote appealing menu items and pictures on your social media channels. Let your audience know that healthy school meals are accessible all year.
• Connect with partners, including small and local businesses, to expand awareness around Universal Meals as well as your program’s overall serving efforts.
• Consider using posters and signs to encourage participation and educate students and staff about Universal Meals.

Inspiring Stories

It’s evident that districts across the country have been faced with various challenges over the past year. However, there have been some monumental silver linings for school food programs, and Universal Meals is a powerful opportunity to keep that momentum moving forward.

Check out these inspiring stories on how school food professionals not only overcame obstacles presented by the pandemic, but succeeded far beyond what they thought was possible:

• Connecting Communities Through Scratch Cook School Food
  
• COVID’s Silver Lining for School Food Programs
  
• Feeding Kids in a Pandemic: A Conversation with CAF’s New Director of Research and Assessment
  
• NVUSD Accomplishing Scratch Cooking in Unprecedented Times