USDA Grant to Finance Three-year Study of SFUSD's Ambitious School Meal Upgrade Program

The University of California (UC) Division of Agriculture & Natural Resources Nutrition Policy Institute and the UC Berkeley School of Public Health have received a nearly $2 million grant from the USDA to conduct a three year study of the Future Dining Experience (FDE) initiative in the San Francisco USD, reports BeyondChron.org. FDE is a comprehensive, long-range program to overhaul the approach taken by the district to market and deliver school meals and includes such components as preordering of lunch through a mobile app, expanded outlets and renovated cafeterias.

The UC study will examine its impact on the number of students choosing school lunch, its effect on plate waste and fruit/vegetables consumption, child obesity and impact on school meal program finances. The grant is sponsored by the USDA’s National Institute of Food & Agriculture (NIFA).