Premium
Changing Nutrition Standards in Schools: The Emerging Impact on School Revenue
Author(s) -
Wharton Christopher M.,
Long Michael,
Schwartz Marlene B.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2008.00296.x
Subject(s) - revenue , school health , food standards , business , environmental health , medical education , medicine , psychology , economic growth , economics , finance , food safety , pathology
Background: Although great focus has been placed on nutritional and other consequences of changes in food‐related policies within schools, few reports exist describing the impact of such changes on school revenue. This review provides an overview of the few revenue‐related studies published recently, as well as information from a sampling of state reports on the subject. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted. Four peer‐reviewed papers and 3 state‐based reports were identified that assessed the impact on revenues of either targeted policy changes or overarching, district‐wide changes in food‐related policies. Results: Thus far, few data exist to substantiate the concern that changes in nutrition standards in schools lead to a loss in total revenue. An interesting phenomenon of increased participation in the National School Lunch Program was noted in a number of reports and might play a role in buffering financial losses. Conclusions: A renewed focus on school policies related to health provides the opportunity for researchers to investigate how nutrition‐related policy change can affect, if at all, food service and overall school revenues.