Doctoral Dissertation Research: Labor, Technology, and the Remaking of the National School Lunch Program

Yale University, New Haven CT

Investigators

Abstract

This dissertation research will engage in a comparative study of foodservice labor in three states. Qualitative data will be collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and participant observation in (1) Louisiana, which has a strong statewide tradition of scratch cooking in its schools, (2) Rhode Island, which has almost entirely outsourced its school food programs to food service management companies, and (3) Minnesota, which has recently completed a two-year state-wide program to reskill and retool school foodservice employees to be able to source, cook, and promote ?real? foods. This study has the potential to inform current school food reforms in light of the regulatory changes ushered in by the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010. The results of this study will be of value to school food professionals, state and regional planners, policy analysts, non-profits, labor unions, and businesses as they sort through priorities and strategies for improving both school food and local economies. The study will highlight instances where school food provides both high quality jobs for local residents and high quality food for children, while still operating under the existing financial and legal constraints of the NSLP.