There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch

After many meetings, surveys and analysis, the Scarsdale School District Food Service Committee recommened that the District Say NO to the National School Lunch Program.

Though 60% of parents surveyed are not happy with the current school lunch program, they don’t believe that moving to a universal free lunch program offered by New York State is the solution.

The Food Service Committee met during the school year and surveyed district parents to determine their satisfaction with the current program – and to determine what was important to them.

Would participation in a free lunch program called the National School Lunch Program improve food service? After analyzing the survey results and learning about the requirements of the national program, the committee recommended that that the district should not participate in this free lunch program. Though their report was slated for review at a June school board meeting, the meeting agenda grew too long and the committee’s report was never discussed by the Board of Education.

In order to qualify for the free lunches, the district would have to adhere to strict guidelines that would limit the use of ingredients, portion size and meal flexibility. The committee determined that these restrictions would compromise the food program and make it less likely, rather than more likely, that students would consume the school supplied lunches.

Furthermore, district participation in the program would preclude the elementary schools from holding special events involving lunch, such as “Pizza Days” which is a favorite of elementary school parents and kids.

And though the lunch would be more economical and save parents money, the survey showed that cost was not significant to parents who were willing to pay for healthy, palatable meals.

Here is a chart comparing Scarsdale’s food service vs. the National Lunch Program.

And here is a chart showing the pros and cons of program participation:

For all these reasons, the committee concluded that the district should NOT participate in the universal free lunch program.

Instead, they recommended that the district focus on the following to improve current meal service:

Based on the extensive work of the committee, the following recommendation is made to the Board of Education for consideration.

-Renew the existing contract as-is and do not participate in the National School Lunch Program for 2026-2027 School year. The district should continue to operate the Food Service Program under the current format.

-Using the information gained this year, as well as follow-up research and discussion as necessary, identify meaningful adjustments to continue to improve the quality and variety of food offerings.