Many parents say school meals can save them money but still view them as unhealthy, study reveals.

Parents believe that school meals can save them money, time and stress, however, they still hold certain negative views about school lunch, according to a new report.

The study surveyed 1110 California parents of K-12 students and asked them about their perception of school meals. The data was collected during the 2021-2022 school year when schools were still offering free school meals to all students via the implementation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) pandemic-era child nutrition waivers.

A majority of parents surveyed said that school meals can save them money (81.6%) and time (79.2) and also reduce their stress (75%). Parents of white students were more likely than parents of Hispanic students to say that school meals can help reduce family stress, according to the report.

Many parents still have a negative view of school meals, however. According to the study, only 36.9% of parents perceived school lunches to be of good quality and that that school lunch is healthy (44%) or tasty (39.6). Furthermore, under half (46%), said that they believed that their child can get enough food during school lunch to be full.

Parents of students who were Hispanic or Asian were less likely to report school lunch as being healthy, tasty and of good quality compared to parents of white students.

The study’s authors note that supply chain and labor challenges during the pandemic may have impacted school meal quality, causing more parents to have a negative view about the quality of school meals. The authors suggest that follow up research is needed.