School nutrition trending: The road ahead for K-12 onsite dining; Datassential study on back-to-school post-coronavirus thoughts

This month, K-12 programs struggled with what in-oerson schooling could look like in September and the food supply for students.

Unless there is a dramatic coronavirus resurgence, the pressure will be on to get students back to K-12 schools this fall, which is good news for their meal programs. What does the road ahead for onsite dining look like? See what Food Management reported here.

Datassential delved into a study of 426 operators with secondary research, asking for K-12’s take on the current situation: Nearly all schools are closed for in-person education, with many states planning to keep them locked up for the remainder of the academic year. The good news: K-12 operators are reporting feeling less likely than other operators overall to have a negative outlook for the long haul.

But, there are still challenges. With meal counts—and therefore revenues—down substantially since the coronavirus crisis forced the closing of most schools, their nutrition departments are facing difficult financial and operational decisions complicated by uncertainty over reopening plans.

See what else was trending in school nutrition on Food Management this month.