(OR27-01-26) Loved or Left Untouched: Finding the Fully Consumed and Fully Wasted Foods in the National School Lunch Program in Arizona K-12 Schools

Objectives: Children consume fewer fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and dairy products than recommended. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP), serving ~30 million children daily, has the potential to improve diet quality. High levels of food waste, particularly fruits and vegetables, limit this impact. This study aimed to identify which school lunch items students most frequently fully consumed and which are most discarded untouched. Understanding these patterns can help inform strategies to improve menu planning in schools for maximum nutrient intake.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 5,698 students from 37 elementary, middle, and high schools in Arizona who participated in the NSLP. Student lunch trays were photographed before and after eating during the school lunch period. Visual estimation methods were used to determine whether each menu item was fully consumed or left untouched. The frequency of fully consumed and untouched items was summarized as percentages within each menu category (e.g., entrées, fruits, vegetables, grains, milk) and stratified by school level.

Results: Warm vegetable items, followed by cold vegetable items, were the most likely to be discarded untouched (39% and 37% respectively). Entrees and desserts were the least likely to be discarded untouched (both at 7%). Desserts were most likely to be fully consumed (48%), followed by entrees and sides (38% and 36%, respectively). Warm vegetables least likely to be fully consumed (12%). However, patterns differed by school level, with high schools fully consuming 5% more of any foods (p < 0.00) and middle schools fully consuming 1% less of any foods (p < 0.05) compared to elementary schools. High schools and middle schools also left more food untouched than elementary schools, but to a lesser degree (5%, p< 0.00; 1%, p=0.03). Patterns of consumption and waste also differed by school level in food category.

Conclusions: These findings underscore the need for menu planning strategies that align with student preferences to encourage greater consumption and reduce waste, such as focusing on improving the quality of wasted items or optimizing nutrition in fully consumed items, potentially improving diet quality and program efficiency.

Funding Sources: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [R01HL139120]. The funding agency had no involvement in any aspect of this study.