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Portland, Maine

CEPH’s Michele Polacsek co-authors study on universal school meal policies

Michele Polacsek
Michele Polacsek, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Michele Polacsek, Ph.D., M.P.H., professor of public health and director of ³ÉÈËÖ±²¥â€™s Center for Excellence in Public Health, is co-author on a exploring the challenges and facilitators for success faced by school food authorities implementing California’s universal school meal policy during its inaugural year (2022–23).

States in the U.S. are newly implementing universal school meal policies, and California was the first state to adopt these policies permanently following the COVID-19 pandemic.  

According to Polacsek, school food authorities reported many benefits of universal school meal policies, including increased meal participation and revenues, reduced meal debt and stigma, and improved meal quality and staff salaries. 

Challenges, she said, included product and ingredient availability, staffing shortages, vendor and distributor logistics issues, and increased administrative burden. State funding and increased federal reimbursement helped with the challenges and supported the first year of implementation. 

California’s experience can inform other jurisdictions considering or implementing similar policies, the study recommended.

About the ³ÉÈËÖ±²¥

The ³ÉÈËÖ±²¥ is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.