Invest in School Food Service Workers

Adequate staffing and livable wages are needed to support school kitchen staff. With these systems in place, efforts to enhance school meal quality, food security, and food ed will be more effective.

School meals are the most nutritious mealsstudents get each day - and are essential for kids facing food insecurity. Early findings from 2 research studies at TFC revealed that understaffing of school kitchens is one of the biggest challenges facing School Food Service Directors and limiting school meal quality. Both Coalition partners and study participants noted that current kitchen employees and potential hires find more competitive wages and benefits elsewhere - in independent schools, fast-food companies, and other city agencies.