- Author: Brianna Aguayo Villalon
- Editor: Wendi Gosliner
- Editor: Lorrene Ritchie
During the first two years of the pandemic, the federal government enacted waivers to allow school meals to be offered to all students at no cost to families. In July 2021, California and Maine became the first states to authorize permanent universal school meals, mandating free school meals to combat food insecurity and improve students' physical and academic health. In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 key stakeholders between December 2021 and June 2022 to explore the factors contributing to the passage of school meals for all legislation in each state. The stakeholders interviewed included policymakers, state agency officials, and advocates. Researchers identified 11 themes from the interviews, including national attention on child hunger, budget surpluses, single-party political control, experienced policymakers, and the context of the ending of pandemic meal waivers. Documenting and sharing lessons from the implementation of universal school meals legislation in California, Maine, and other early adopting states can help inform the potential expansion of access to school meals in other states and nationally. This study was conducted by Nutrition Policy Institute researchers Wendi Gosliner, Kenneth Hecht, Christina Hecht, and Lorrene Ritchie, Amelie Hecht from the University of Wisconisin-Madison, Lindsey Turner from the College of Education, Boise State University, Michele Polacsek from the Center for Excellence in Public Health, University of New England, and Juliana Cohen from the Department of Public Health and Nutrition, Merrimack College.
Increasing participation in school meal programs can improve dietary quality and reduce nutrition insecurity. School food service directors have indicated an urgent need for marketing materials encouraging school meal participation. Nutrition Policy Institute will partner with Anna Grummon of Stanford University to develop and evaluate a marketing campaign to increase school meal participation. The evaluation will help to determine the school meal messaging that most resonates with parents. The two-year project, “Developing and evaluating a marketing campaign to increase school-meal participation to improve children's dietary quality and reduce food insecurity,” was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Healthy Eating Research program. The project started in November 2023 and includes NPI's Christina Hecht, Ken Hecht and Reka Vasicsek.
- Author: Brianna Aguayo Villalon
- Editor: Monica Daniela Zuercher
- Editor: Wendi Gosliner
- Editor: Lorrene D Ritchie
School meals have been shown to be the healthiest source of food for US students on average and have been associated with multiple benefits to students. However, not all students eat school meals, even if they are eligible for free or reduced-price meals based on their family income. This study examined the association between parent perspectives about school meals and student meal participation during the school year 2021-22 in the context of the California Universal School Meals policy. NPI researchers surveyed 1,110 parents of California K-12 students and identified three groups of parental perceptions: positive perceptions (e.g. liking school meals and thinking that they are tasty and healthy), perceived benefits to families (e.g. school meals save families money, time, and stress), and negative perceptions (e.g. concerns about the amount of sugar in school meals and stigma). More positive parental perceptions about school meals and their benefits to families were associated with greater student meal participation, while more negative parental perceptions were associated with reduced student participation in school meals. Overall, study results emphasize that parent perceptions of school meals may affect student participation in school meal programs and that effective communication with parents to ensure parents are familiar with the healthfulness and quality of school meals may be critical for increasing meal participation rates. A podcast interview with researcher Monica Zuercher and a press release were published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, further explaining the research study findings. The research study was led by NPI researchers Monica Zuercher, Christina Hecht, Kenneth Hecht, Dania Orta-Aleman, Anisha Patel, Lorrene Ritchie, and Wendi Gosliner, as well as researchers Juliana Cohen, Deborah Olarte, and Leah Chapman with Merrimack College, Margaret Read with Partnership for a Healthier America, and Marlene Schwartz with the University of Connecticut.
Nutrition Policy Institute, in collaboration with the Dolores Huerta Foundation, Cultiva La Salud, and Stanford Pediatrics, released three infographics with information on school meal programs. The cartoon-style one-pagers were developed after a PhotoVoice project suggested the need for culturally and linguistically relevant materials about school nutrition programs for Spanish-speaking families in California's San Joaquin Valley. The infographics emphasize federal nutrition requirements for school meals, factors influencing school meal offerings, and the role families and youth can play in advocating for changes.
- “What's on the menu?” promotes the benefits to student health and learning from school meals, including an overview of their nutritional components. It is available in Spanish, “¿Qué hay en el Menú de la?”, and complementary English and Spanish videos.
- “What goes into making school meals?” highlights the logistics and other factors that influence how schools provide meals. It is available in Spanish, “¿Qué se Necesita para Preparar las Comidas Escolares?” and complementary English and Spanish videos.
- “Make Your Voice Heard!” highlights avenues for parent and community involvement in advocating for policies and practices related to school meals at local, state, and federal levels. It is available in Spanish, “¡Alza tu Voz!
Parents, youth, school district officials, food service directors in the San Joaquin Valley, and other partners helped to co-create the infographics with designers at Tremendousness. The project partnership includes NPI's senior policy advisor Christina Hecht and policy director Ken Hecht. Initial investigation and infographic content development were funded by the Stanford University Office of Community Engagement, with video development and extended dissemination funded by the Thompson Family Foundation.
- Author: Brianna Aguayo Villalon
- Editor: Christina E Hecht
- Contributor: Lorrene Ritchie
- Contributor: Dania Orta
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In a recent research brief, Nutrition Policy Institute researchers highlight the benefits of California's School Meals for All program which offers breakfast and lunch to all K-12 students at public and charter schools every instructional day, at no charge, regardless of household income. The program began in the 2022-2023 school year after temporary federal pandemic funding for universal meals ended. Prior to the pandemic, household income determined school meal charges. The brief shares findings from a 2023 NPI survey examining parents' perceptions regarding the policy's impact. Among a diverse representation of all income levels and ethnic groups, 80% of all parents were in support. Christina Hecht, NPI's senior policy advisor, presented these findings and other NPI research on School Meals for All to the California State Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. In her public testimony, Hecht explained that “...65% of parents across all income levels believe the School Meals For All program reduces stigma for their child about eating a school meal.” Findings can inform further efforts to continue the expansion of California's School Meals For All program to reduce financial strain, food insecurity, stress, and stigma among families. The research was led by Dania Orta-Aleman, Christina Hecht, Monica Zuercher, Ken Hecht, Samantha Sam-Chen, Lorrene Ritchie, and Wendi Gosliner from NPI and Juliana Cohen from Merrimack College.