Cargando…

Predictors of Participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Meal Programs: An Examination of Outreach Strategies and Meal Distribution Methods During COVID-19

INTRODUCTION: Significantly fewer children participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture–sponsored summer meal programs than in the federal school meal programs during the academic year. During the summer of 2021, several pandemic-related waivers supported more flexible operations for summer mea...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Bennett, Brooke L., Cohen, Juliana F.W., Andreyeva, Tatiana, Esposito, Julia, Burkholder, Kara, Chafouleas, Sandra M., Schwartz, Marlene B.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10546601/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37790948
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.focus.2023.100124
_version_ 1785114890275389440
author Bennett, Brooke L.
Cohen, Juliana F.W.
Andreyeva, Tatiana
Esposito, Julia
Burkholder, Kara
Chafouleas, Sandra M.
Schwartz, Marlene B.
author_facet Bennett, Brooke L.
Cohen, Juliana F.W.
Andreyeva, Tatiana
Esposito, Julia
Burkholder, Kara
Chafouleas, Sandra M.
Schwartz, Marlene B.
author_sort Bennett, Brooke L.
collection PubMed
description INTRODUCTION: Significantly fewer children participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture–sponsored summer meal programs than in the federal school meal programs during the academic year. During the summer of 2021, several pandemic-related waivers supported more flexible operations for summer meal programs, such as allowing grab-and-go meals and the distribution of meals for multiple days at once. This study assessed how summer meal site characteristics and geographically targeted outreach methods were associated with summer meals served in 2021 in Connecticut. METHODS: Weekly meal count data were requested from all sponsors of the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option. Data were received from 78 sponsors with 763 sites. Geographically targeted outreach (e.g., billboards, bus ads, and flyers) was tracked by location each week. Mixed methods ANOVA was used to examine the predictive value of outreach efforts, program characteristics, and meal distribution methods on meals served each week. The program characteristics examined included the hours open per week, the number of weeks serving meals, the maximum number of meals distributed at one time, and the number of open and closed sites in a school district. RESULTS: Between June 21 and August 20, 2021, a total of 1,188,669 breakfasts and 1,389,347 lunches were served. Sites that were open more hours per week (mean=7.60 hours per week; range=0.17–35) and gave multiple meals to parents at each visit (mean=4.68 meals; range=1–15) reported greater rates of meal distribution. The outreach efforts assessed were not significantly associated with changes in meal distribution at nearby sites. CONCLUSIONS: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's waivers in response to COVID-19 permitted extended operating hours and multiple-meal distribution. These operational flexibilities should be considered for permanent regulation changes owing to their positive association with summer meal participation.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-10546601
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2023
publisher Elsevier
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-105466012023-10-03 Predictors of Participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Meal Programs: An Examination of Outreach Strategies and Meal Distribution Methods During COVID-19 Bennett, Brooke L. Cohen, Juliana F.W. Andreyeva, Tatiana Esposito, Julia Burkholder, Kara Chafouleas, Sandra M. Schwartz, Marlene B. AJPM Focus Research Article INTRODUCTION: Significantly fewer children participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture–sponsored summer meal programs than in the federal school meal programs during the academic year. During the summer of 2021, several pandemic-related waivers supported more flexible operations for summer meal programs, such as allowing grab-and-go meals and the distribution of meals for multiple days at once. This study assessed how summer meal site characteristics and geographically targeted outreach methods were associated with summer meals served in 2021 in Connecticut. METHODS: Weekly meal count data were requested from all sponsors of the Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option. Data were received from 78 sponsors with 763 sites. Geographically targeted outreach (e.g., billboards, bus ads, and flyers) was tracked by location each week. Mixed methods ANOVA was used to examine the predictive value of outreach efforts, program characteristics, and meal distribution methods on meals served each week. The program characteristics examined included the hours open per week, the number of weeks serving meals, the maximum number of meals distributed at one time, and the number of open and closed sites in a school district. RESULTS: Between June 21 and August 20, 2021, a total of 1,188,669 breakfasts and 1,389,347 lunches were served. Sites that were open more hours per week (mean=7.60 hours per week; range=0.17–35) and gave multiple meals to parents at each visit (mean=4.68 meals; range=1–15) reported greater rates of meal distribution. The outreach efforts assessed were not significantly associated with changes in meal distribution at nearby sites. CONCLUSIONS: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's waivers in response to COVID-19 permitted extended operating hours and multiple-meal distribution. These operational flexibilities should be considered for permanent regulation changes owing to their positive association with summer meal participation. Elsevier 2023-06-21 /pmc/articles/PMC10546601/ /pubmed/37790948 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.focus.2023.100124 Text en © 2023 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Research Article
Bennett, Brooke L.
Cohen, Juliana F.W.
Andreyeva, Tatiana
Esposito, Julia
Burkholder, Kara
Chafouleas, Sandra M.
Schwartz, Marlene B.
Predictors of Participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Meal Programs: An Examination of Outreach Strategies and Meal Distribution Methods During COVID-19
title Predictors of Participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Meal Programs: An Examination of Outreach Strategies and Meal Distribution Methods During COVID-19
title_full Predictors of Participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Meal Programs: An Examination of Outreach Strategies and Meal Distribution Methods During COVID-19
title_fullStr Predictors of Participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Meal Programs: An Examination of Outreach Strategies and Meal Distribution Methods During COVID-19
title_full_unstemmed Predictors of Participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Meal Programs: An Examination of Outreach Strategies and Meal Distribution Methods During COVID-19
title_short Predictors of Participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Summer Meal Programs: An Examination of Outreach Strategies and Meal Distribution Methods During COVID-19
title_sort predictors of participation in the u.s. department of agriculture summer meal programs: an examination of outreach strategies and meal distribution methods during covid-19
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10546601/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37790948
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.focus.2023.100124
work_keys_str_mv AT bennettbrookel predictorsofparticipationintheusdepartmentofagriculturesummermealprogramsanexaminationofoutreachstrategiesandmealdistributionmethodsduringcovid19
AT cohenjulianafw predictorsofparticipationintheusdepartmentofagriculturesummermealprogramsanexaminationofoutreachstrategiesandmealdistributionmethodsduringcovid19
AT andreyevatatiana predictorsofparticipationintheusdepartmentofagriculturesummermealprogramsanexaminationofoutreachstrategiesandmealdistributionmethodsduringcovid19
AT espositojulia predictorsofparticipationintheusdepartmentofagriculturesummermealprogramsanexaminationofoutreachstrategiesandmealdistributionmethodsduringcovid19
AT burkholderkara predictorsofparticipationintheusdepartmentofagriculturesummermealprogramsanexaminationofoutreachstrategiesandmealdistributionmethodsduringcovid19
AT chafouleassandram predictorsofparticipationintheusdepartmentofagriculturesummermealprogramsanexaminationofoutreachstrategiesandmealdistributionmethodsduringcovid19
AT schwartzmarleneb predictorsofparticipationintheusdepartmentofagriculturesummermealprogramsanexaminationofoutreachstrategiesandmealdistributionmethodsduringcovid19