According to research, adequate nutrition is essential for a child's well-being and development. However, an estimated 1.54 million U.S. students cannot afford the meals offered at school. Studies show that students from low-income households who rely on free school meals for breakfast and lunch have a significantly healthier diet than those who…

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…

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The purpose of this study is to examine breakfast-eating behaviors of Historically Black College and University (HBCU) students in conjunction with their breakfast awareness and eating habit satisfaction. A self-administered survey was distributed in fall semester 2016 (N 289 students). Results show…

Background: Breakfast consumption often decreases as youth get older. The School Breakfast Program (SBP) provides an opportunity to intervene and increase breakfast consumption, especially among high school students. Methods: Project breakFAST implemented an expanded breakfast service at 12 high schools. In this longitudinal evaluation, school…

Background: Having breakfast is correlated with health and academic benefits; yet, many children do not consume breakfast, and participation in the federal School Breakfast Program remains low. The purpose of this study was to examine parent perceptions of school breakfast and identify relationships between those who consume breakfast at school…

Background: The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) directed the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to revise school meal standards to increase healthy food offerings. A critical stakeholder in the implementation of standards is Food Service Directors (FSDs). We sought to examine FSDs' perspectives on revised school meal standards to…

Background. Family homes are a key setting for developing lifelong eating and physical activity habits, yet little is known about how family home nutrition and physical activity (FNPA) environments influence food insecurity (FI) and childhood obesity, particularly in rural settings. Aims. This study examined associations among FNPA, FI, and body…

Purpose/Objectives: This study investigated the influences of school foodservice employees' age and average number of hours worked per week on perceived safe food handling practices, barriers, and motivators. Methods: A bilingual survey (English and Spanish) was developed to assess reported food safety practices, barriers, and motivators to…

This study develops estimates of the efficacy of school nutrition programs in improving a broad range of dietary outcomes by comparing the nutritional status of students and their families during the school year with the status when school is out. The study finds evidence that children who have a School Breakfast Program (SBP) available consume a…

A large national study of schoolchildren aged 6-18 years was conducted to assess nutritional and socio-cognitive factors associated with body mass index (BMI). A questionnaire was used to assess nutritional quality of breakfast, importance of physical activity and food variety score, among 4441 students from randomly selected schools in all states…