School Meals (PI6971)

This metric is intended to capture the quantity of meals provided by the organization (school) to target stakeholders (for example, students) for free or at a subsidized price during the reporting period.

Organizations should include both meals funded directly by the organization and those paid for by another organization or specific donors.

Meals included in this calculation may be provided to both full- and part-time students, if applicable, with each discrete student counted once regardless of the number of courses taken.

This metric and the associated Percent Students Receiving Free and Subsidized School Meals (PI4555) are frequently used as a proxy of poverty at the school level. For example, a financial institution that provides a loan to a school may seek to gauge the income level of the targeted stakeholders of its loan by requiring the school receiving the loan to report this metric. Organizations are also encouraged to report metrics such as School Enrollment: Poor (PI7254), School Enrollment: Very Poor (PI5583), or School Enrollment: Low Income (PI2173) if they have additional demographic details available.

Organizations operating in the United States can refer to the following sources for additional information on free and reduced-price meal programs and eligibility:

• New America School Funding and Resources/Nutrition (http://atlas.newamerica.org/federal-school-nutrition-programs#toc-eligibility-and-enrollment)
• USDA Food and Nutrition Service: Income Eligibility Guidelines (http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/income-eligibility-guidelines)