States report delivery challenges with food from USDA for school meals

WASHINGTON — A new watchdog report is revealing more than two dozen states have reported delivery challenges with getting food for school meals purchased by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The USDA Foods in Schools program provides beef, poultry and fresh produce for student meals.

The report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said 28 states reported “major challenges with delivery issues” in the 2021-2022 school year, which includes cancelations, delays and incomplete orders.

“When schools don’t receive their orders on time, or do not receive a full order, then they really have to scramble at the last minute to put together a nutritious meal for kids,” said Kathryn Larin, a Director for GAO. “Kids really do rely on school meals to make up an important part of their nutritional needs and having that program run smoothly and schools receive the food they need to put together those healthy lunches is really critical.”

According to the report, around 15 to 20 percent of the food served through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is purchased by the USDA, which averages a cost of $1.6 billion a year.

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All 50 states were surveyed and the report said they pointed to two big barriers: decreased manufacturer participation in school meals programs and challenges with food order minimum requirements.

In response to the delivery issues, GAO recommended USDA develop a system to address large scale problems and to improve communication with states.

“What USDA is not doing is routinely or systematically looking at what the challenges are in the program and addressing them on a broader scale,” said Larin.

The USDA said it agrees with the recommendations and is working on making the changes.

In a statement, a USDA spokesperson said:

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is committed to ensuring nutrition security for all kids through its array of programs under USDA Foods in Schools, including the National School Lunch Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program, which help ensure children get the nutritious foods they need to thrive. USDA has made significant efforts to identify and address supply chain challenges in the USDA Foods in Schools Program, including the GAO recommendations. The Department has conducted listening sessions with stakeholders and is initiating actions based on the feedback. USDA will continue to seek input from state agencies about the best ways that the Department can meet states’ needs and ensure timely communication on the USDA Foods in Schools Program, so that ultimately our child nutrition partners have the support they need to continue providing healthy meals that fuel our children for success in the classroom and beyond.”

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