Calculating Costs

School food service professionals must operate Child Nutrition Programs with ever-increasing efficiency. Using these tools, you can calculate a target participation level in order to generate sufficient reimbursement/income to offset costs. Can the program sustain itself? Administrators and other stakeholders may lend more support to the action plan if it reduces the financial burden on a district's general funds.

Cost-effectiveness is a key component of all decisions related to labor, food purchasing, and equipment maintenance. These resources may help you calculate and maximize the cost-effectiveness of operating the School Breakfast Program.

UW-Extension: School Breakfast Cost/Benefit
      Achieving a profitable SBP [PDF]

Simple Breakfast Profit/Loss worksheet [Excel]

Funding for School Breakfast Expansion

Does the State offer additional reimbursement for breakfast or expansion grants? If not, aside from exploring grant opportunities, consider a longer term goal to work with Child Nutrition Program advocates and State Representatives to promote State funding for school breakfast.

Return to Assessing School Breakfast Potential Steps

Last modified: 03/05/2013