This report summarizes findings from the School Meals Operations Study (SMO), part of an ongoing series to assess school meal operations on a school year (SY) basis. This volume of the study covers July 2021 through the end of September 2022 and includes SY 2021-2022. When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, the Families First Coronavirus…

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…

We estimate the effect of universal free school meal access through the Community Eligibility Program (CEP) on child 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 in Georgia, we use…

The federal government has a long history of investing in programs for feeding children, starting with federal aid for school lunch programs in the 1930s. Today, federal child nutrition programs support food served to children in schools and a variety of other institutional settings. The child nutrition programs support meals and snacks served to…

As this paper was being written, school systems across the country were increasingly announcing plans for full or partial distance learning to respond to COVID-19, and it seems likely that more school systems may implement these plans should the pandemic surge in the fall or winter. As a result, working parents with school-age children are faced…

The Education Trust-West partnered with Global Strategy Group to conduct a poll that tested a long list of potential concerns among parents amidst the coronavirus pandemic and found academic concerns rose to the top. Key findings in this infographic include: (1) In the immediate aftermath of school closures, California parents give positive…

Public spending on children represents an effort to invest in the nation's future by supporting children's healthy development and human potential. To inform policymakers, children's advocates, and the general public about how public funds are spent on children, this 15th edition of the annual "Kids' Share" report provides an updated…

The FNS Research Corner provides a continuing series to summarize recently completed and current research conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in the area of child nutrition. Summaries of recently completed research projects and in-progress research are provided in this article.

Objectives: To examine the association between frequency of breakfast consumption and body mass index (BMI) among elementary students participating in a traditional School Breakfast Program (SBP) in a school district that is implementing a Farm to School (F2S) program compared to those participating in a traditional SBP without F2S. Methods: This…