The purpose of the study was to explore the challenges experienced by teachers in their role in implementing the National School Nutrition Program in schools within the Harry Gwala District of KwaZulu-Natal. This article is extracted from a Ph.D. thesis that employed a qualitative research design, utilizing a sample of teachers who participate in…

Purpose: We used data from the National Survey of Children's Health to (1) examine differences in economic hardship and safety net program use after the implementation of federal relief efforts, and (2) assess whether the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated autism-based disparities in hardship and program use. Methods: We examined five dimensions of…

Introduction: Fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption is low among adolescents, and waste of these foods is high in school cafeterias. The objective of this research was to determine the impact of behavioural economic strategies and structural lunchroom changes on FV selection and waste in high-school lunch programmes using the collaborative efforts…

This action research study explores how co-developing school meals can be taken as a case for education for sustainable development, as integrated to home economics education. We analyse a seven-month-process of collaborative participation in a Finnish secondary school conducted with two home economics teachers, a school food manager, and students…

University participation gaps between free school meals (FSM) and non-FSM students have remained largely stable in the UK since 2006. The efficacy of UK widening participation (WP) interventions in changing attitudes towards university and increasing participation of disadvantaged students is uncertain. Some approaches have shown to be effective…

We estimate the effect of universal free school meal access through the Community Eligibility Program (CEP) on child body mass index (BMI). Through the CEP, schools with high percentages of students qualified for free or reduced-priced meals can offer free breakfast and lunch to all students. With administrative data from a large school district…

According to the Ethiopia Ministry of Education (2015), school feeding initiatives, such as feeding children in food insecure conditions, providing educational resources, and school meals are essential for supporting access to general education. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of school feeding program on the academic…

Abstract Households with children eligible for Free School Meals are at risk of food insecurity. This paper reports on a rapid-response study that investigated the impact of the school food voucher scheme during the COVID-19 crisis on young people, families and schools. It pays close attention to the reliance of the state on the goodwill of…

This paper investigates the impact of extending free school lunch to all students, regardless of income, on academic performance in New York City middle schools. Using a difference-in-differences design and unique longitudinal, student-level data, we derive credibly causal estimates of the impacts of "Universal Free Meals" (UFM) on test…

Excessive plate waste is generated in elementary school cafeterias. Adapting nutrition promotion strategies to target waste reduction and encouraging mindful and sustainable eating (MSE) are possible strategies to encourage students to reduce waste during school lunch. "Farm to Tray, Tray to Farm" is a 16-week intervention that aims to…

Purpose/Objectives: Fruit and vegetable (F/V) consumption among children continues to be lower than recommended. This study tested the effectiveness of nudges using fun facts about F/V on F/V consumption by elementary school students in grades 1 through 5. The study hypothesis is higher F/V consumption with nudges. Methods: The design was a…

Background: School feeding programs' evaluation requires the measurement of food insecurity, a more objective indicator, within school in low-income countries. The Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF) uses subjective indicators to report school feeding coverage rates across many countries that participate in the global survey of school meal…

Poverty has an enormous impact on children and their success in school. Children with low socioeconomic status often perform poorly in reading. Poor reading skills often lead to truancy, low rates of high school graduation, low-paying jobs, and cycles of illiteracy in generations of families. Secondary data was collected from the Tennessee…

Purpose/Objectives: This paper describes the results from a Smarter Lunchroom program designed to evaluate if bundling fruit or vegetable strategies listed on the Smarter Lunchroom Scorecard increased selection of fruits and vegetables by students in school cafeterias from 2015 to 2017. Methods: Twenty-one Michigan State University (MSU) Extension…

Evidence suggests that a free school meal can improve children and adolescent diet, social environment, concentration, and school performance. This study aimed to investigate possible effects of a free, healthy school meal among students that usually eat packed meals on behavioral issues, inactiveness, self-efficacy, school enjoyment and classroom…