Linking Education, Activity, and Food (LEAF): Fiscal Impact Report

In 2001 the California legislature passed Senate Bills 19 and 56 in response the the child obesity epidemic. One part of the new legislation was to establish nutrition standards for competitive foods and beverages sold on school campuses during the school day. To pilot test the implementation of SB 19/56, LEAF awarded grants to 16 middle and high schools to implement new policies promoting nutrition standards for competitive foods, eating more California-grown fruits and vegetables, providing nutrition education, healthy fundraisers, and enough vigorous physical activity

The goal of the study was to conduct a multi-component, cross-site evaluation of California's LEAF program. The report analyzes the fiscal impacts experienced by the 16 LEAF schools as a result of the implementation of SB 19/56.

Among other results, the report concluded that: compliance with SB 19 benefits school food service departments financially when a la carte services are reduced and sales shift student purchases toward reimbursable meals; all children, especially low income children, can benefit from the shift to reimbursable meal purchases; both meal and competitive food sales can increase while complying with SB 19; it may take more than 21 months for each school to fully implement the LEAF program and adjust to changes in revenues and expenditures; and schools that use multiple strategies for student health improvement that coordinate with changes in the food service operation are more likely to achieve changes in food and beverage purchasing behavior.