BACKGROUND: The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) summer meal programs are designed to provide meals at no cost while school is out of session. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, several regulatory waivers were enacted to facilitate meal distribution. The aim of this study was to assess the rates of meal distribution before and after these…

As roughly 7.3 million students in rural school districts head back to school this fall, they remain largely unaware that the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) is due to expire on September 30, 2024 (Hartman et al., 2023). Enacted on December 20, 2018, and temporarily renewed in September 2023, this critical piece of legislation…

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) allows high-poverty schools to offer free meals to all students regardless of household income. Conceptualizing universal meal provision as a strategy to alleviate stigma associated with school meals, we hypothesize that CEP implementation reduces the incidence of suspensions, particularly for students…

Alternative poverty measures have been proposed in response to the emerging insufficiencies of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) eligibility data. The analysis presented here involves seven poverty measures. Using outcome measures as a yardstick, we can assess how poverty measures explain these outcomes and note variations between…

Alternative poverty measures have been proposed in response to the emerging insufficiencies of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) eligibility data. The analysis presented here involves seven poverty measures. Using outcome measures as a yardstick, we can assess how poverty measures explain these outcomes and note variations between…

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, the paper draws on conceptions of culinary capital and socialisation to explore children's experiences of mealtime in one academy school. In this paper, the author argues how 'healthy eating' interventions have led to the neglect of the social significance of dining together. The paper highlights how children's…

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…

This paper presents ethnographic work conducted to investigate how notions of culinary capital have the potential to shape the everyday experiences of children during mealtime in school. Children's early experiences with mealtimes and food are critical determinants for eating behaviour over the life course. The paper presents an account of…

As the sustainability imperative looms, mainstream educational research in the English-speaking world continues a long tradition of failing to see food as integral to education. Japan's tradition of "Shokuiku" (food education) stands in stark contrast, providing an external reference point to direct critical attention on Anglo-American…

Objective: Previous research indicates that head teachers in Sweden frequently fail to see school lunch as part of the educational activities of a school. This study contributes to an understanding of how head teachers in Sweden perceive and experience current national policy intentions related to school lunch. Design: Qualitative inquiry.…

Background: This study examined student and caregiver preference for school communication and explored the feasibility and acceptability of a digital tool to assist with communication about school meal program between schools and families. Methods: The study used qualitative methodology through youth focus groups and caregiver semi-structured…

Rurality in education research is a function of the size of the school, the distance of a school in relation to urban areas, and factors within each school that may differentiate the school community based on geography. Distance matters. This study finds variation between rural communities at different distances from an urban center and…

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federal program that provides free and reduced priced lunch to millions of low-income children in urban schools. Empirical research shows mixed results on the physical and nutritional health of urban students participating in the program. However, a considerable limitation of this literature is that it…

Aim: This study aims to evaluate the impact of a novel multicomponent nutrition education program (United for Healthier Kids; U4HK) on the diet consumed during school lunch among preschool children. Methods: The program comprised four tools: hero plates, hero content, hero menus, and hero books and stickers. The program was implemented for 16…

Participating in advanced placement (AP) can improve high school students' cognitive and noncognitive outcomes. Despite nationwide efforts, including Arkansas's mandate for statewide AP access since 2003 and exam cost coverage since 2005, disparities in enrollment persist. Using multilevel modeling, we investigate the relation between…