Associations among Food Security, School Meal Participation, and Students' Diet Quality in the First School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study.

Sarah Forrestal,Elizabeth Potamites,Nora Paxton,Joanne Guthrie

doi:10.3390/nu13020307

Sarah Forrestal, Elizabeth Potamites + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020307

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Abstract

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 updated the nutrition standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs (NSLP and SBP) and expanded universal free meals’ availability in low-income schools. Past studies have shown that school meals are an important resource for children in food-insecure households. This analysis used data from the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study to classify students as food insecure (FI), marginally secure (MS), or food secure (FS). Diet quality from school and nonschool foods that students consumed was assessed using Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2010 scores. Chi-squared and two-tailed t-tests were conducted to compare school meal participation, students’ energy intakes, and diet quality across food security groups. FI and MS students were significantly more likely to participate in NSLP than FS students (79%, 71%, and 49%, respectively). SBP participation followed a similar pattern but was lower (38% FI, 33% MS, and 16% FS). Compared to FS students, FI and MS students more likely attended schools offering SBP, universal free meals, or afterschool snacks and suppers. School meals contributed significantly more energy to FI and MS students’ diets than to FS students (22%, 20%, and 13%, respectively). All groups’ dietary intakes from school foods were of higher quality than non-school foods. These findings highlight the role of school meals in meeting the energy and diet quality needs of FI and MS students.

Highlights

The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s National School Lunch Program (NSLP)and School Breakfast Program (SBP) are integral parts of the U.S federal government’s food assistance and nutrition safety net
The objective of this paper is to examine the association between food security status, school meal participation, and students’ diet using data from the first School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS-I), a comprehensive, national data set collected following the implementation of HHFKA-mandated changes
food secure (FS) students were significantly more likely than both food insecure (FI) and marginally secure (MS) students to be white, less likely to be Hispanic, less likely to be in the lower-income groups, and less likely to be certified for free or reduced-price (FRP) meals (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

School Breakfast Program (SBP) are integral parts of the U.S federal government’s food assistance and nutrition safety net. Through these programs, participating schools serve lunches and breakfasts meeting federally established nutrition standards and receive reimbursements for meal costs from USDA that vary based on the household income of participating children. (In 2015, the federal poverty guideline was an annual income of $24,250 for a family of four [2].) Children are certified to receive FRP school meals by either submitting an application or being directly certified because their households participate in other federal assistance programs [1]. Regulations require that all children receive the same meal and differences in payment status should not be identifiable

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