School food programs can have a wide range of impacts on students, families and local workers, all of which were thrown into high relief by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a new article in the October 2020 issue of Phi Delta Kappan Magazine, University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher Jennifer Gaddis discusses those impacts, and how they are influenced by a school’s reliance on outsourcing and large-scale food service providers.

Her article also traces the history and evolution of school food programs in the U.S., and the promise and viability of alternative, in-house approaches to food service.

Gaddis joins CPRE Executive Director Jonathan Supovitz to discuss her article, her book “The Labor of Lunch” and the uphill climb many food programs face in the wake of the pandemic and a national recession.

Featured Research: Gaddis, Jennifer E. “The Big Business of School Meals.” Phi Delta Kappan, Sept. 21, 2020.

Gaddis, Jennifer E. The Labor of Lunch: Why We Need Real Food and Real Jobs in American Public Schools. University of California Press. Nov. 2019. (Use code 19V3712 to get 30% off)