School Lunch Quality and Academic Performance

March 2017

This study tested whether access to healthy school lunches affects students’ test scores. In their results, the authors found that students at schools that served healthy lunches scored moderately higher on state achievement tests, with larger score increases for students who were eligible for reduced price or free school lunches. They also note elsewhere that “the test score gains, while modest in magnitude, come at very low cost.” These findings suggest that districts can increase students’ academic performance by improving the nutritional quality of school meals.