School Food: Food Quality and On-site Cooking

Centralized kitchens and the use of precooked meals reheated at schools cut labor costs—one of the biggest expenses in serving lunches. However, these reheated meals are less popular. On-site cooking has been named as the number one determinant of food taste and quality. Kitchens can be expensive to build in a new school and even more expensive to install in an existing school. They are frequently at risk in the increasing debate over cutting costs of school construction and maintenance, as taste, presentation, and acceptance have been equated with expense. Meal advocates insist that, while it is important to be critical of program quality, any school meal is better than none for many children.