The State of School Lunch in California

This executive summary by Friends of the Earth analyzes the environmental and health impacts of school lunch menus in California's 25 largest K-12 public school districts. The report finds a significant misalignment between current school meal offerings—which are heavily reliant on industrial animal proteins—and public health and climate recommendations. It highlights the role of the USDA Foods program in subsidizing carbon-intensive animal products and calls for structural policy reforms to increase the availability of plant-based, organic, and regenerative foods.

• California school lunch menus are overwhelmingly dominated by animal proteins, with 94% of entrées featuring animal protein and 16% containing processed meat, while only 4% are plant-based.
• The USDA Foods program incentivizes the use of industrial animal products by providing them at highly subsidized prices. Nationally, 70% of USDA commodity funds were spent on four items: raw beef, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, and chicken, which comprise 88% of USDA Foods sent for processing into items like hamburgers and pizza.
• A small number of large meat and dairy conglomerates dominate the USDA Foods market. Specifically, Tyson Foods provides 44% of all USDA Foods poultry purchased by California schools, and 15 companies nationally capture nearly 60% of the $1.3 billion annual USDA Foods spending.
• Industrial animal agriculture, primarily through Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), contributes to climate change, water pollution, and public health risks, including the rise of antibiotic-resistant pathogens and the potential for viral pandemics.
• California school districts spend over $1.5 billion annually to provide 540 million lunches to more than four million students, many of whom are students of color and low-income, who face higher risks of obesity and diabetes.
• The California government has taken steps toward improving school food systems by establishing a Farm to School Grant Program, mentioned as being valued at both $8.5 million and $10 million in different sections of the text.

APA

Kraus-Polk, J., & Hamerschlag, K. (2021). The State of School Lunch in California. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/resources/the-state-of-school-lunch-in-california/

Chicago

Kraus-Polk, Julian, and Kari Hamerschlag. The State of School Lunch in California. Friends of the Earth, 2021. https://foe.org/resources/the-state-of-school-lunch-in-california/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kraus-Polk |first1=Julian |last2=Hamerschlag |first2=Kari |title=The State of School Lunch in California |publisher=Friends of the Earth |date=10 March 2021 |url=https://foe.org/resources/the-state-of-school-lunch-in-california/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{krauspolk2021state, author = {Kraus-Polk, Julian and Hamerschlag, Kari}, title = {{The State of School Lunch in California}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://foe.org/resources/the-state-of-school-lunch-in-california/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }