We're excited to share findings from a recent study that highlights how school lunch policies can make a real impact on sustainability. Led by UCLA’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering–with contributions from Dr. Pam Koch of Columbia University’s Teachers College and the Center for Sustainable Futures, and Deborah Olarte, a TC graduate now at NYU–the study examined the carbon footprint of school lunches across six major U.S. districts—Austin, Chicago, Long Beach, Miami, Portland, and New York City.

The results were clear: meals with beef had the highest carbon footprint, while plant-based meals had the lowest. The researchers explored three scenarios to reduce emissions—limiting beef to one meal per month, introducing a fully plant-based meal day each week, and combining both policies. They found that New York City, which already follows a similar model, had the lowest carbon impact of all the districts studied. When both policies were applied together, emissions were reduced by an impressive 43%, all while maintaining balanced nutrition for students.

These findings show that sustainable school meal policies can significantly cut carbon emissions without sacrificing nutrition. Future research will explore student acceptance of these meals, as well as potential impacts on food waste and health outcomes.Read more about the MDPI study here.