False Promises: Food Service Contractors Don't Save Pennsylvania School Districts Money

Meeting students' basic food and nutrition requirements is an essential role of public schools and critical to student learning. Yet as with other support services in schools -- such as transportation and janitorial services -- school boards or school administrators who are worried about the bottom line may turn to outside companies to manage or replace in-house district school food programs. In 2004, about 70% of Pennsylvania school districts self-operated their food service programs. But by 2019, that number dropped to 47%, as more districts chose management companies to run their school food programs. This report relies on a mix of rigorous statistical analysis and interview-based qualitative research and finds that contracting out food services -- their management or the entire operation -- does not yield the financial benefits school districts are promised by contractors.