Safe School Meals Act
Rapid

In October 2024, Count on Mothers surveyed 709 mothers across 48 states and the political spectrum to understand views on the Safe School Meals Act, introduced in the Senate in September 2024. Mothers shared firsthand perspectives on school meal nutrition, food safety standards, and key provisions of the bill, including limits on heavy metals, pesticide residues, food additives, and toxic packaging. Findings were analyzed to assess the level of alignment across demographics and to identify the provisions mothers view as most critical for protecting children’s health.

October 31, 2024
Related themes:

Family Economic Security and Cost Pressures

Shared Priorities and Cross-Partisan Alignment Among Mothers

  • Near-universal support for stronger food safety standards:
    More than 9 in 10 mothers agree that the FDA should set safe limits for heavy metals in school meals and reevaluate food additives, banning those linked to cancer, reproductive, or developmental harm.
  • Broad agreement on banning harmful substances:
    Nearly 9 in 10 mothers, with minimal variation across political affiliation, support banning pesticide residues, PFAS, phthalates, lead, bisphenols, and other toxic materials from school meals and food packaging.
  • Mixed trust in current FDA standards:
    Mothers are divided on whether they trust existing FDA standards for metals and pesticides, with roughly equal shares expressing trust, uncertainty, or distrust. College-educated mothers were more likely to express skepticism.
  • Support for investment in safer food systems:
    Strong majorities support grants to help manufacturers transition to toxic-free packaging and to assist farmers in remediating soil and water.
  • Clear priorities for school meals:
    Across open-ended responses, mothers emphasized that school meals should be healthy, nutritious, and free from potentially harmful ingredients, with many also calling for more fresh produce, whole foods, and fewer processed items.
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This report focuses on information Count on Mothers collected in October 2024 on mothers’ views on the “Safe School Meals Act” introduced in the Senate in September 2024, and mothers' firsthand experiences and needs regarding what should be provided in school meals. We compiled the results to find out mothers' sentiments on the main components of the bill, particularly addressing FDA food safety standards (safe levels of metals, banning pesticide residue), grants for farmers and manufacturers, and safe packaging. In addition, we studied whether demographics influenced their views, and their views on the most important provisions in a school meal. A total of 709 Mothers residing in 48 states and from across the political spectrum provided feedback based on their first-hand knowledge. Regarding the political background of the survey respondents, the sample closely reflects the U.S. breakdown of political ideology among women according to Gallup. 12.8% identified as very conservative, 16.9% identified as conservative, 38.2% identified as moderate, 17.6% identified as liberal, 12.6% identified as very liberal, and 1.8% identified as other.  After analyzing Mothers’ opinions from the survey, we take this aggregate data and share it with policymakers and the public so they are educated on Mothers’ firsthand experiences.

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Count on Mothers conducts nationwide surveys and qualitative research with U.S. mothers. Findings are analyzed and reported in aggregate to inform research publications and decision-making related to families.
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