Sarah Moreland-Russell, an associate professor at the Brown School of Washington University in St. Louis, has been awarded a federal grant of $2.65 million for four years to investigate how educational institutions adapt to modifications in policy regulating school meal programs and how these adaptations influence health outcomes.
The funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeks to comprehend how schools adhered to updates in the nutrition guidelines of the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program, which granted some latitude to schools. Ultimately, the research aims to discern the effects of these modifications on students’ health and educational achievements.
Federal regulations governing the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program have undergone numerous changes during the past six years, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has just announced an additional policy revision set to commence in the 2025-26 school year, as stated by Moreland-Russell, the principal investigator for the grant entitled “Examining system-wide implementation of new flexibilities to the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.”
“Such significant changes to a crucial system that serves over 40 million meals daily to youth across the United States is substantial,” she remarked.
The federal guidelines permit schools leeway in adopting the evidence-based dietary recommendations established in the 2010 Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act, she emphasized. The initial modification in the federal regulations initiated in the 2019 academic year permitted schools to decide on the adoption of specific flexibilities concerning milk, whole grain, and sodium regulations.
“Before the modification, milk had to be either unflavored fat-free or low-fat (1 percent fat). Schools can now additionally offer flavored milk that contains more sugar,” she pointed out.
“Currently, we lack knowledge regarding which schools have chosen to comply with which guidelines. Some provide 100% whole grain, while others only offer 50%, and some reduce sodium and sugar intake, yet others do not.”
“Understanding how these significant alterations and variations in implementation from school to school impact the food distribution system, school food services, and ultimately what students consume is critical for informing future federal policies,” she further explained.
Co-investigators involved in the grant include Ross Hammond from the Brown School, the Betty Bofinger Brown Distinguished Professor of Public Health, and Peg Allen, a research assistant professor. Additional members from the Brown School team comprise Jess Gannon, project manager at the Prevention Research Center; Jason Jabbari, an assistant professor; and Dan Ferris, an assistant professor of practice.
Moreland-Russell indicated that school food service staff aim to provide nutritious meals but must also consider various factors. This is a vital inquiry that the grant intends to address. “The pilot study we conducted before developing the grant indicated that food service personnel were dedicated to improving child nutrition and health and wished to offer healthy meals,” she noted. “Nevertheless, they expressed concerns that meal participation was declining due to evidence-based standards impacting taste. Some staff members even mentioned difficulties in sourcing whole-grain options.”
Moreland-Russell and her team plan to execute a comprehensive nationwide survey of implementation practices for the breakfast and lunch programs and scrutinize factors affecting school decision-making. They will engage with individuals in the food sector to comprehend how policy adaptations translate into changes in food supply and distribution. Furthermore, they will create a computer simulation to test various policy scenarios aimed at shaping school breakfast and lunch policies that positively influence health.
The ultimate objective of this project is to assess whether federal modifications to nutrition standards in schools — along with the ways these changes are executed — can impact youth obesity, hypertension, and diabetes, all of which are precursors to cardiovascular diseases in adults.
“Any leniency in the nutritional standards of school meals holds the potential to sway the health trajectory of youth in both positive and negative directions,” Moreland-Russell stated. “It is crucial to understand how schools choose to modify the food options presented to students to inform more health-centric policy changes.”
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