Maintaining School Foodservice Operations During COVID-19: The Case of Ohio

OBJECTIVES: COVID-19-related school closures hindered the provision of meals to school-age youth nationwide, risking deficits in nutrition, health, and development. Foodservice staff faced substantial difficulties in their efforts to maintain foodservice operations. The state of Ohio, in which the prevalence of child food insecurity exceeds the national average (18.9% versus 15.2%), offers an illustrative case for exploration of these adaptations. The objective of this study was to characterize COVID-19-related foodservice adaptations, including impacts on both summer and school year meal provision. METHODS: An administrative representative from each Ohio school district was emailed in December 2020 and invited to complete an online survey. This cross-sectional analysis focuses on public school district experiences. RESULTS: Among responding districts (n = 298 of 611, 49%), the majority continued providing meals after the Spring 2020 shutdowns (73%) and functioned as an ‘open site’ (63%), offering food to students’ families and households without district affiliation. Most schools offered meals either once weekly (41%) or once per weekday (30%) and offered an average of 3.7 days-worth of meals at a time. Half (48%) of the districts employed a pre-order system. Districts used various distribution methods: 76% had central school or district-affiliated pick-up point(s); 38% delivered meals to community location(s); and 34% delivered directly to some households. Supply chain disruptions led the vast majority of schools to seek USDA meal pattern waivers. Only 39% of districts maintained food service operations during summer 2020. The majority of districts were hybrid (59%) or fully online (24%) for at least a portion of Fall 2020, yet only 12% reported offering meal delivery or pick-up. Districts reported many “successes” (e.g., feeding students safely) and “challenges” (e.g., extra costs, poor parental participation). CONCLUSIONS: Public school districts in Ohio made numerous COVID-related foodservice adaptations in order to serve both their students and the community at large, though districts reported poor utilization of this service. Future research should evaluate whether reduced access to school meals impacted child food security and food security-related outcomes during this period. FUNDING SOURCES: Office of Research at The Ohio State University