For many schools and school cafeterias, ongoing discussions center on how to improve school lunches. With so much information about sources of healthy alternatives to standard school lunches, now is a great time to make changes that will improve students' health, benefit local food producers and potentially offer cost savings.
Here are 30 practical ideas to help K-12 schools offer healthier meal options while boosting lunch participation. By following these steps, your schools can create sustainable lunch programs that provide nutritious, appealing and balanced meals while being mindful of cost efficiency.
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There are various reasons to improve school lunches. Here are some to consider.
Improving school cafeteria lunches means offering more fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins while reducing processed foods and sugary drinks. Schools can also involve students and parents in planning, add fun presentations and choices, and partner with local farms for fresher meals. These steps help make school lunches healthier, more appealing and better for learning.
It's important that your lunch program meets the needs of your key stakeholders: students and parents. These groups have differing concerns about school lunches. Students want items that are tasty, and parents usually want food that meets their children's nutritional needs.
We built customizable survey templates to help you learn how to improve school lunches and increase participation. We offer an age-appropriate template for students and a comprehensive template for parents.
Collecting parent and student feedback will help you understand what's working and where to make improvements. Use this feedback to create a lunch program that meets the needs of your entire school community.
The National Farm to School Network offers invaluable resources to K-12 school cafeterias. The USDA Farm to School Program helps incorporate and promote local foods — and research has found that these programs can foster healthy eating in schools, making students more likely to try nutritious fruits and vegetables.
Across the U.S., school gardens are becoming a popular way to teach students about healthy food. Here are some examples:
The 2015 USDA Farm to School Census indicated that there were more than 7,000 school gardens across the country.
Nutrition education should be part of the curriculum to ensure that students understand how to use the fresh ingredients they grow. This can be done through field trips to the garden, special lessons about healthy eating habits and other interactive activities.
Making the switch to higher-quality, more nutritious, local and sustainable food can help schools create healthy school lunches that students enjoy — all while working within a budget. Preparing more meals on-site can also be a great way to improve quality.
In 2016, the Oakland Unified School District in California made a groundbreaking decision to partner with the Center for Good Food Purchasing. This enabled the school to source food from local farms and companies that provided nutritious, minimally processed ingredients — sourced from suppliers following fair labor practices. In just two years, the district reduced its animal product intake by 30%, with remaining meat sourced from pasture-raised suppliers.
Processed foods contain added sugars, fats, sodium and other additives that are harmful to health. Here are some steps schools can follow to provide healthier meals:
The Berkeley Unified School District in California has taken steps to make school lunches healthier by eliminating processed foods — including hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, refined sugars, refined flour, chemical additives and nitrates. Paying attention to portion sizes also helps reduce food waste and prevent overeating.
Schools need to include vegetarian, vegan and other dietary options in their menus to help ensure students get enough nutrients even if they don't eat meat. Consider adding plant-based meals that are a good source of protein, fiber and vitamins.
Bowls are a great way to offer meal variety by including several nutritious foods at once. Try adding quinoa with black beans and veggies, zoodles with veggies or lentil salads to your school lunch menu. Buddha bowls — combining grains, colorful vegetables and legumes — are also a great option. For ideas, check out Forkly's Buddha bowl recipes.
Burritos and wraps offer students healthy, filling options. Consider bean burritos, tahini and red pepper rolls, plant-based chickpea "tuna" salad, collard wraps, veggie sushi rolls or plant-powered pita pizzas.
Get creative in the lunchroom with cucumber and hummus, apple and nut butter, avocado and veggies or veggie burgers. Mix up classic spreads too — white bean hummus or pea and mint hummus can make a familiar item feel new.
Whole-grain or bean-based pasta with beans, veggies and your favorite sauce is an easy, delicious and healthy addition to any lunch program.
Portable and easy to prepare, jar salads work well for school settings. Options like crunchy Asian salad, Mexican black bean salad, fruity kale salad and Greek chickpea salad all hold up well.
Round out meals with fresh fruit, roasted chickpeas, kale chips, celery with nut butter and raisins, energy balls, homemade granola bars, chia seed puddings or veggies with hummus.
Many countries strive to provide quality meals for students at an affordable cost. Here are some encouraging examples.
By law, at least 50% of school lunches in France must include vegetables. In 2017, the European Union also announced plans to invest in a program to help cover the costs of school lunches and subsidize the inclusion of fruits and vegetables.
A public campaign in the U.K. is working to improve plant-based food options in schools — advocating for daily meat-free meals, separate meat-free options and one fully vegetarian day per week.
School meals in Japan are a source of national pride. Food is sourced locally whenever possible and is almost always fresh rather than frozen — a model worth emulating.
Nutritionists in Brazil create lunch menus with a 30% minimum quota for organic agricultural products sourced from local farmers, with meals prepared fresh and from scratch.
Without clear rules and expectations, the cafeteria can quickly become a chaotic and unpleasant environment. When schools are clear about student behavior during lunch, it creates a more organized experience — improving behavior, reducing bullying and promoting inclusivity.
Our free lunchroom rule poster templates offer an easy way to set rules and expectations. They're editable, printable and completely free.
When parents complete permission slips for school lunch, give them space to fill in allergies, dietary restrictions and food preferences. Gather financial information as well to make it easier for parents to sign their students up for free or reduced-fee lunch.
Arm teachers and staff with the information parents need to enroll. Consider creating a guide or sharing online resources such as:
If students stop participating in the program, it could be in danger of dying out. The more students participate, the easier it is to drive down costs. Here are some ideas for encouraging participation:
One way to improve school lunches is through parental involvement. Here are three techniques that work well.
Invite parents to join their children for a free lunch in the cafeteria when they sign up for the school lunch program. This gives parents a unique incentive to sign up and a chance to taste the cafeteria food firsthand.
When parents attend open houses, include the cafeteria on the tour. Connecting the dots for parents helps them understand what the program offers and makes them more likely to enroll their students.
Give cafeteria staff the recognition they deserve. Introduce them in the school newsletter or on the school website — with photos and brief bios — the same way you would for teachers and the principal.
Breakfast and lunch programs can work together to support one another. Having more students ordering breakfast in the cafeteria will inevitably get them to sign up for the lunch program too. The cafeteria already has the equipment and facility to prepare food, so it shouldn't require significant additional investment. Expand the menu to include breakfast as a trial run for a few months — chances are, it will catch on quickly.
Meal planning a month in advance allows the cafeteria to order supplies ahead of time, prep components early and stay on budget without last-minute spending. Students enjoy knowing what they'll have for lunch days or weeks in advance — and parents can plan home menus around the school schedule and get insight into their children's nutrition.
We built free menu templates to help you get started.
Allowing students to pre-order meals keeps the lunch line moving and helps cafeteria workers know exactly how many of each meal to prepare — reducing leftover food and keeping costs down. Students love it too, since their meal is ready when they arrive.
Dietary restrictions due to religious beliefs are an important consideration. Offer kosher meals, Halal meals and meat-free options during Lent. Menus should clearly list these options so students and parents know without having to ask. Educate nutrition staff on the differences between dietary requirements so they can serve students appropriately.
Delicious and nutritious meals start with well-trained cafeteria staff. Proper training includes food handler certification covering health hazards, proper cooking temperatures, cleaning processes and strategies like FIFO.
While training kitchen staff, also take time to educate them on their allotted budget and the cost of items they use. Encouraging them to minimize waste helps reduce expenses.
In our time working with 1,300 districts, we've seen five effective ways schools engage students during lunchtime. In most cases, it costs very little time or effort.
Menu themes make meals more interesting and appealing. Run contests for students to name menu items and create menu art. Tie themes in with events happening at the school to unite learning and lunch.
Take students' taste buds on a trip around the world with stops in different countries for international cuisines. Or stay within U.S. borders and make each state's most popular sandwich. It keeps cafeteria workers' jobs interesting too — and gives students a chance to learn about geography and other cultures.
Weather permitting, take the lunch line outdoors. Train cafeteria staff to use grills safely and block off the grill area from students. Set up blankets and serve picnic-friendly foods — include meat-free options and throw on some fruit kebabs for a grilled dessert.
Monday lunches can be something students look forward to. Let them vote on what they want to see on the menu and make it happen. Giving students a say creates buy-in and builds excitement for the week ahead.
Holiday-inspired menu items — tied to celebrations from any part of the world — are great for spicing up a school lunch menu. Encourage cafeteria staff to get creative with it.
Social media can be the way to a student's stomach. An Instagram page, Facebook account or even Snapchat that students and parents can follow is a low-cost way to build excitement around the lunch program. Post photos of menu items, share food facts, show videos of food being made and run polls on what students want to see on the menu.
Serving food that is familiar to students connects them to their community on a different level. Provide pizza Fridays from a popular local pizzeria or Tuesday tacos from a local taqueria students frequent with their families. Tying in the community is good for everyone — and the restaurants may even offer a discount.
According to the CDC, children should get at least 20 minutes of seated time at lunch — not counting time spent waiting in line, using the bathroom or cleaning up. The 20-minute target has been shown to increase nutrient absorption, improve healthy food choices and reduce plate waste. A 2021 JAMA study found that 20 minutes of seated time was associated with significantly less fruit and vegetable waste compared to 10 minutes.
Schools can achieve this goal by:
A Science Direct study found that moving recess before lunch can lead to a 54% increase in fruit and vegetable serving size per child and 10% more students consuming fruits and vegetables overall. When recess comes after lunch, children tend to run off without finishing their food. Scheduling it beforehand gives students a chance to socialize first — then settle in and eat.
According to a Food Waste Fact Sheet, schools waste an estimated 530,000 tons of food each year. Much of this comes from students picking up food items and discarding them. A safe share table can address this. Here's how it works:
Water reduces the intake of sugary sodas and juices and provides a feeling of satiety so kids eat less. According to a Syracuse University study, drinking water was associated with a 0.9 percentage point drop in overweight boys and a 0.6 percentage point drop in overweight girls, and reduced milk consumption by 12.3 half pints per student per year.
Schools can make water more accessible by setting up dispensers near lunch lines. To reduce traffic, consider adding decals that say "Fill first, sip while you sit" and "Refill as you exit."
According to the CDC, allergies affect one in thirteen children in the U.S. Under 7 CFR 15b in the USDA manual, schools are also required to make modifications for students with disabilities, including allergies. Food service directors can protect students with the following systems:
For more guidance, check out our free K-12 School Allergy Guide.
A 2025 natural experiment in Mid-Atlantic elementary schools found that salad bars increased fruit selection by up to 0.44 cups and intake by up to 0.36 cups — indicating that students are more likely to eat healthy food when it's easily accessible. Schools can encourage more fruit and vegetable consumption by:
This CDC article provides more information on encouraging students to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Staffing shortages are real. A School Nutrition Association survey found that 71.6% of all school lunch programs are short at least one staff member, with an overall vacancy rate of 8.7%. Efficient processes help ensure students move through lunch lines quickly and have adequate time to eat:
You and your team are busy — you don't want to reinvent the wheel. Our team built a free kit that includes:
According to Congress, 60% of NSLP-participating schools offer some sort of universal free meal program, whether through state or federal funding. These programs benefit schools by ensuring more students participate (lowering food costs), streamlining cafeteria line flow and reducing the stigma for students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
If a universal free lunch program isn't feasible, explore options that support participation, such as:
The USDA sets guidelines for an Offer vs. Serve (OVS) program that allows students to decline items they won't eat, potentially minimizing waste. Children must be offered five required meal components at lunch and three at breakfast but are permitted to refuse components.
Tips for implementing an OVS program:
Schools may also consider composting food, paper plates and other lunchtime items — converting waste into valuable soil amendment rather than sending it to a landfill.
The same School Nutrition Association survey found that 96.8% of schools that do not offer universal free meals often face challenges with unpaid meal charges. As a result, unpaid meal debt rose to $6,900 in the fall of 2024 — a 25.6% jump from 2023.
Schools can avoid meal debt by going cashless. Automated systems can:
Want to learn more about how a cashless system works? Here's an interactive overview in seven steps.