CEPH’s Michele Polacsek co-authors study on universal school meal policies

Michele Polacsek, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor of public health and director of UNE’s Center for Excellence in Public Health, is co-author on a recently-published manuscript exploring the challenges and facilitators for success faced by school food authorities implementing California’s universal school meal policy during its inaugural year (2022–23).

States in the U.S. are newly implementing universal school meal policies, and California was the first state to adopt these policies permanently following the COVID-19 pandemic.  

According to Polacsek, school food authorities reported many benefits of universal school meal policies, including increased meal participation and revenues, reduced meal debt and stigma, and improved meal quality and staff salaries. 

Challenges, she said, included product and ingredient availability, staffing shortages, vendor and distributor logistics issues, and increased administrative burden. State funding and increased federal reimbursement helped with the challenges and supported the first year of implementation. 

California’s experience can inform other jurisdictions considering or implementing similar policies, the study recommended.