Offer Versus Serve

Are you interested in reducing the cost per meal and the amount of food waste in your school district?

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 per year that is no longer thrown away! Additionally, these schools realized significant savings in the average cost per meal--fourteen cents![1]. In a school program of 500 children, that is $70 dollars a day or about $1,400 per month!

Offer Versus Serve is an option within the national school lunch and breakfast programs administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, which allows students to choose less than all of the food items in a meal pattern. 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[2]. 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.

Benefits

• Reduces plate waste, thereby reducing disposal costs.
• More students may purchase lunches resulting in increased revenue for the school.
• Increases the consumption of fruits and vegetables because children get to choose what they like.
• Fewer students may bring their lunch, which can result in less packaging waste.

Factors for Successful Implementation

1. Obtain School Board and/or district approval before implementation of the Offer Versus Serve program.
2. Contact the California Department of Education, Nutrition Services Division Field Services representative designated for your county. The representative will have specific guidelines for implementation of the Offer Versus Serve program.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Ask for feedback from staff, students and parents regarding the program and make adjustments as needed.
6. Communicate waste reduction efforts and successes to your local government contact.
7. Communicate any waste reduction, costs savings and student/parent feedback to your school administrators.

Case Study

Davis Joint Unified School District realized a net savings of $4,695 dollars 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.

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--provides waste prevention and cost savings information from the pilot project. To obtain a copy, please contact Chris Liske of the California Integrated Waste Management Board.

Resources

2. "Cook’s Choice: Tastes Great, Less Waste," Oregon Department of Education c1994--This 8-minute video discusses how providing students with food choices leads to satisfied customers and less waste. To obtain a copy, please contact Chris Liske of the California Integrated Waste Management Board.

3. School Lunch Program, Cafeteria Managers' Views on Food Wasted by Students (Adobe PDF)--A 45-page report from the US General Accounting Office available for download in Adobe format. The study reports that 42 percent of all cooked vegetables and 30 percent of all raw vegetables and salads are wasted. Eighty percent of over 2000 cafeteria managers that responded felt the Offer Versus Serve program is an effective way to reduce food waste.

California Specific Information

The Nutrition Services Division (NSD) within the California Department of Education, administers the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Child Nutrition Program in California.

Nutrition Services Division
California Department of Education
560 J Street, Room 270
Sacramento, California 95814-2342
Phone: 916-445-0850/800-952-5609
Fax: 916-327-0503

The California Department of Education School Meals Initiative (SMI) web site features a comparison of menu planning approaches for lunch.

Other Helpful Web Sites

United States Department of Agriculture's Child Nutrition home page offers information on the reimbursable school lunch program and more. The site includes a comprehensive state contact list.

Using Offer Versus Serve in the School Meals Initiative (Adobe PDF)--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 site provides useful general information.

Offer versus Serve School Breakfast Program Traditional and Enhanced Food Based Plans--A Program by the Iowa Department of Education’s Bureau of Food and Nutrition. Although Offer Versus Serve is a federal program, this site provides useful general information and links to other web sites.

Footnotes

[1] David Allaway, Project Manager for Harding Lawson Associates, "Offer Versus Serve and Food Choices in Elementary School Cafeterias; Waste Prevention Pilot Projects at North Plains Elementary School," Charles F. Tigard Elementary School, Metzger Elementary School." Flyer May 1994, p. 6.

[2] United States Department of Agriculture; Food and Nutrition Service, Meal Pattern Requirements and Offer Versus Serve Manual. August 1990.

Food Service/Cafeteria Home

Last updated: September 18, 2008