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Offer Versus Serve is an option within the national school lunch and
breakfast programs and is administered by the United States Department
of Agriculture. Under the Offer Versus Serve provision, students may
decline up to two of the five required food items offered in the
reimbursable lunch, and one of the four required food items offered in
the reimbursable breakfast [1].
While voluntary in the elementary and middle schools, high schools
must provide the Offer Versus Serve method to their students.
By offering food choices, students are more likely to eat the food
items selected rather than throw them away. As a result, Offer Versus
Serve can save school districts money through avoided purchasing and
disposal costs.
Administrators
- Students get the nutrients they need for
success in the classroom.
- Students take less time in the school
breakfast or lunch line.
- Less food is thrown away.
- Janitorial staff have less cleanup.
- School systems can save money.
Child Nutrition Staff
- More choices can be offered on the school
menu.
- School cafeteria staff may be able to make
less food.
- Fewer students may bring their lunch, so
more kids eat school meals.
- Child Nutrition has less food and packaging
waste to get rid of.
- Schools can conserve resources—food, money
and energy.
Teachers
- Students take less time in the school
breakfast or lunch line.
- Teachers do not have to monitor what
students take.
- The cafeteria can be used as a learning
laboratory.
- Students can practice nutrition lessons
learned in the classroom.
- Students can learn about ways to save
resources and the environment.
Families
- Cost savings keep school meal prices low.
- Families can take greater advantage of
school breakfast and lunch.
- Families can teach children about food and
nutrition by using the menu.
- Families save time by not having to pack
lunches.
- Children build life skills in choosing what
foods they will eat.
Students
- Students have the chance to try new foods.
- Students eat more fruits and veggies
because they pick what they like.
- Students get the nutrients they need
because they eat foods they pick.
- Students have more time to eat because it
takes less time in line.
- Students can learn about eating smart and
the environment.
The above information was developed by the Nutrition Education and Training
Program, Nutrition Services Branch, Division of Public Health, N.C.
Department of Health and Human Services with funding from Child
Nutrition Services, N.C. Department of Public Instruction.
- Obtain school board and/or district approval before implementation of
the Offer Versus Serve program.
- Contact the California Department of Education,
Nutrition
Services Division to get specific
guidelines for implementation of the Offer Versus Serve program.
- Educate school personnel, management, students and parents who will
aid in program implementation. Utilize activities and approaches such as
classroom presentations, posters, and letters to parents.
See Other Helpful Resources below for training materials.
- Integrate the program into outcome-based education for students. For
example, involve the students in weighing garbage before the program
begins and after it gets started. Track progress in reducing waste.
Present findings to other students that are not directly involved in
weighing the food waste.
- Ask for feedback from staff, students and parents regarding the
program and make adjustments as needed.
- Communicate waste reduction efforts and successes to your local government contact.
- Communicate any waste reduction, costs savings and student/parent
feedback to your school administrators.
- After implementing Offer Versus Serve food
program, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) cut down on
food disposal costs and avoided food purchasing which saved the district
more than $600,000 annually. Additionally, with the Offer Versus Serve
program, LAUSD prevented the creation of 13,000 tons of food waste in
2006 alone. Contact
LAUSD's Food Services Department for further information.
- Davis Joint Unified School District realized a
net savings of $4,695 in one year by implementing Offer Versus
Serve in three schools, separating organic food scraps from the
cafeteria for vermicomposting, and using recyclable trays. For more
program details, see the Davis Joint Unified School District Case Study
and other
Food Scrap Reduction Case Studies.
- After implementing Offer Versus Serve,
cafeteria food waste from three Portland, Oregon, pilot schools was
reduced by as much as 36 percent--that's 1.5 tons of food no longer
thrown out to the landfill each school year. Additionally, these schools
realized significant savings in the average cost per meal by as much as
14 cents; in a school program of 500 children--a savings of
$70 per day or about $1,400 per month For more information, see
Offer
Versus Serve and Food Choices in Elementary School Cafeterias; Waste
Prevention Pilot Projects at North Plains Elementary School, Charles F.
Tigard Elementary School and Metzger Elementary School Report (PDF, 618 KB).
The Nutrition Services
Division (NSD) within the California Department of Education
administers the
USDA Child Nutrition Program in California.
Nutrition Services Division
California Department of Education
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-0850/800-952-5609
Fax: 916-445-4842
The California Department of Education
School Meals
Initiative (SMI) web site features a comparison of menu planning
approaches for lunch.
-
Offer Versus Serve Training Manuals for School
Districts--The United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a series of training
packets on the Offer Versus Serve provisions. It contains training
manuals for traditional food-based, enhanced food-based, and
nutrient standard menu planning.
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School Lunch Program, Cafeteria Managers' Views
on Food Wasted by Students (Adobe
PDF, 591 KB)--A 44-page report from the U.S. General Accounting Office which
reports that 42 percent of all cooked vegetables and 30 percent of
all raw vegetables and salads are wasted. Of more than 2,000
cafeteria managers who responded, eighty percent felt the Offer
Versus Serve program is an effective way to reduce food waste.
-
Using Offer Versus Serve in the School
Meals Initiative (Adobe PDF, 830 KB)--A manual distributed by the Idaho
Department of Education to assist food service personnel identifying
a reimbursable meal under the Offer Versus Serve option. Although
Offer Versus Serve is a federal program, this document provides useful
general information.
Footnotes
[1] United States Department of Agriculture; Food and
Nutrition Service, Meal Pattern Requirements and Offer Versus Serve
Manual. August 1990.
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