scholarly journals Why nutritious meals matter in school

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-37
Author(s):  
Eleanor D. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Public School ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
School Meals ◽  
School Meal ◽  
Meal Quality ◽  
The Subject ◽  
School Equity

The Trump Administration’s rollbacks in nutritional standards for school meals have been the subject of much criticism and the basis for a lawsuit. Research into food insecurity and public school meal quality shows that food security and high nutritional standards are essential to any efforts to improve both school equity and student performance. Eleanor Thompson describes this research and makes recommendations for halting proposed rollbacks and providing more durable protections for the regulations that exist.

scholarly journals Food Insecurity and National School Feeding Program in Brazil – 2004 to 2013

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
I Souza ◽  
V S Silva
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Public School ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Multiple Correspondence Analysis ◽  
School Feeding ◽  
National School ◽  
Feeding Program ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
School Feeding Program

Abstract Background One of United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. In this sense, the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) in Brazil is one of the largest school feeding program in the world and the only one with universal service. It's exist before of Brazil's Family Grant Program (PBF) - a conditional cash transfers program - and the only condition to access is to be a student in public school (kindergarten to high school). So, the aim of this work is to verify the association between food insecurity and the PNAE in Brazil (2004 to 2013). Methods The database used in the present study was the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) thats incorporated Food Security Supplement (FS Supplement). The food security was conceptualized in four levels: food security (FS) and the three types of food insecurity (FI), Mild FI (MiFI), Moderate FI (MoFI) and Severe FI (SFI). Only household with people with less than 18 years-old at public school was analyzed. The database are from 2004, 2009 and 2013 PNAD. The association between food insecurity and PNAE (user or non-user) was conducted by multiple correspondence analysis and logistic regression (the results are preliminary). Results The FI in 2004 was present in 35.2% of households (95%CI: 32.9-37.5), 30.5% (95%CI: 28.7-32.3) in 2009 and 22.9% (95%CI: 20.9-24.8) in 2013. In all years of the study the most users of PNAE living in a household with FI than non-users, that's show in multiple correspondence analysis (two dimensions with a total of 31,7% of variance) and logistic regression (OR: 1.26, 95%IC: 1.24-1.28). Conclusions Author's agree that downward trend in food insecurity in Brazil was a result from Family Grant Program (PBF). Additionally, the PNAE continues as protective factor of FI, because people with less than 18 years-old at public school who lived in a household with FI can have at least one meal a day. Key messages School Feeding Programs contribute to Millennium Development Goals, as to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. National School Feeding Program in Brazil is a protective factor for Food Insecurity.

Pre-pandemic to early-pandemic changes in risk of household food insecurity among Maryland families with children

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Alysse J. Kowalski ◽  
Ann Pulling Kuhn ◽  
Hannah G. Lane ◽  
Angela C. B. Trude ◽  
Helina Selam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Household Food Insecurity ◽  
Program Participation ◽  
School Meals ◽  
Poverty Level ◽  
School Meal ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Changes In Risk

Abstract Objective: The objective was to examine risk and protective factors associated with pre- to early-pandemic changes in risk of household food insecurity (FI). Design: We re-enrolled families from two statewide studies (2017-2020) in an observational cohort (May-August 2020). Caregivers reported on risk of household FI, demographics, pandemic-related hardships, and participation in safety net programs (e.g. CARES stimulus payment, school meals). Setting: Maryland, United States. Participants: Economically, geographically, and racially/ethnically diverse families with preschool to adolescent-age children. Eligibility included reported receipt or expected receipt of the CARES stimulus payment or a pandemic-related economic hardship (n=496). Results: Prevalence of risk of FI was unchanged (pre-pandemic: 22%, early-pandemic: 25%, p=0.27). Risk of early-pandemic FI was elevated for non-Hispanic Black (aRR=2.1 [95% CI 1.1, 4.0]) and Other families (aRR=2.6 [1.3, 5.4]) and families earning ≤300% federal poverty level. Among pre-pandemic food secure families, decreased income, job loss, and reduced hours were associated with increased early-pandemic FI risk (aRR=2.1 [1.2, 3.6] to 2.5 [1.5, 4.1]); CARES stimulus payment (aRR=0.5 [0.3, 0.9]) and continued school meal participation (aRR=0.2 [0.1, 0.9]) were associated with decreased risk. Among families at risk of FI pre-pandemic, safety net program participation was not associated with early-pandemic FI risk. Conclusions: The CARES stimulus payment and continued school meal participation protected pre-pandemic food secure families from early-pandemic FI risk but did not protect families who were at risk of FI pre-pandemic. Mitigating pre-pandemic FI risk and providing stimulus payments and school meals may support children’s health and reduce disparities in response to pandemics.

scholarly journals Home-grown school feeding: assessment of a pilot program in Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachana Manandhar Shrestha ◽  
Pepijn Schreinemachers ◽  
Mamta Gurung Nyangmi ◽  
Manoj Sah ◽  
Judy Phuong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Capacity Building ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Pilot Program ◽  
School Meals ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
School Meal ◽  
School Feeding ◽  
Meal Quality

Abstract Background The Nepal School Meals Program reached 600,000 schoolchildren in basic education in 2017 and plays a key role in the government’s strategy to increase children’s academic and nutritional outcomes. A large part of the program is implemented through cash transfers with schools responsible for the school meal delivery. Home-grown school feeding, an approach in which local communities are given greater control over the school meals program and part of the food is sourced locally, may strengthen local ownership and improve meal quality, but there is a lack of evidence for impact. Methods This study piloted home-grown school feeding in 30 schools reaching nearly 4000 children in Sindhupalchok and Bardiya districts in Nepal with the aim to assess operations and outcomes in comparison to the regular cash-based school meals program. The study used a one-time post evaluation with a mixed methods approach. Qualitative data were collected through 12 focus group discussions and 28 key informant interviews with government and school staff, parents, cooks, cooperative members, World Food Programme representatives and other stakeholders involved in the pilot program. The quantitative part applied a quasi-experimental design and used cross-sectional data collected from 1512 children in 30 pilot and 30 control schools. Results The quantitative data indicated that children in the pilot schools had a significantly higher provision of midday school meals (+ 19%; p < 0.01) and a higher school meal quality in terms of dietary diversity (+ 44%; p < 0.01) and nutritional content (e.g. a 21%-points higher consumption of vitamin A-rich fruit and vegetables; p < 0.01). The qualitative data identified key drivers of these positive outcomes as the use of standard meal options, capacity building of local stakeholders, strengthened community ownership and accountability mechanisms, and local food supply chains. Maintaining the observed gains would require a 20–33% increase in the current budget per school meal in addition to the cost of capacity building. Conclusions This study for Nepal shows that home-grown school feeding strengthened operations of the school meals program and led to a significantly higher meal provision and quality of school meals.

scholarly journals Associations among Food Security, School Meal Participation, and Students’ Diet Quality in the First School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 307
Author(s):  
Sarah Forrestal ◽  
Elizabeth Potamites ◽  
Joanne Guthrie ◽  
Nora Paxton
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Diet Quality ◽  
Low Income ◽  
School Nutrition ◽  
Healthy Eating Index ◽  
Dietary Intakes ◽  
School Meals ◽  
Cost Study ◽  
School Meal ◽  
Chi Squared

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.

The big business of school meals

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-25
Author(s):  
Jennifer E. Gaddis
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
Food Service ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Junk Food ◽  
School Meals ◽  
Community Groups ◽  
School Meal ◽  
Service Companies ◽  
Cost Cutting ◽  
School Cafeterias

Big corporations and food service companies are making millions of dollars from public school meal programs, often to the detriment of students’ health. Jennifer Gaddis explains how government policies and funding shortfalls have affected what is served is school cafeterias. Common cost-cutting measures include serving cheap and easy-to-prepare meals, selling junk food to raise revenues, or bringing in outside companies to manage cafeterias. Parents and community groups have pushed back, trying to bring scratch cooking and nutritious food back into their cafeterias.

Food insecurity transitions among rural households in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwakemi Adeola Obayelu ◽  
Emem Ime Akpan
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Secondary Education ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Rural Households ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Dependency Ratio ◽  
Male Adult ◽  
Access To Credit ◽  
Food Expenditure

Food insecurity dynamics of rural households in Nigeria was assessed using a panel data. Results showed that 44.4% of households that were food secure in the first panel transited into food insecurity in the second panel, while 32.5% that were mildly food insecure transited into food security. Furthermore, 25.7% transited from moderate food insecurity to food security, while 38.2% transited from severe food insecurity to food security. About 35.1% of households were never food insecure; 11.4% exited food insecurity 28.0% entered food insecurity; while 25.48% remained always food insecure. Having primary education, secondary education, dependency ratio, household size, share of non-food expenditure and farm size explained food insecurity transition. However, the likelihood of a household being always food insecure was explained by gender, female-to-male-adult ratio, marital status, primary education, secondary education, dependency ratio, share of non-food expenditure, farm size, access to credit and access to remittance.

Alternative Assessment for Music Students with Significant Disabilities

2019 ◽  
pp. 224-241
Author(s):  
Donald DeVito ◽  
Megan M. Sheridan ◽  
Jian-Jun Chen-Edmund ◽  
David Edmund ◽  
Steven Bingham
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Alternative Assessment ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
General Music ◽  
Significant Disabilities ◽  
School Music ◽  
K 12

How is it possible to move beyond assessment for the purposes of evaluating teacher proficiency and student performance outcomes and instead to consider assessment for understanding student musical experiences and preferences for the purpose of promoting lifelong musical engagement? This chapter includes and examines three distinct music education approaches that have been taken at the K–12 Sidney Lanier Center School for students with varying exceptionalities in Gainesville, Florida. Megan Sheridan illustrates inclusion and assessment using the Kodály approach. David Edmund and Jian-Jun Chen-Edmund examine creative lessons developed for exceptional learners in a general music setting. Steven Bingham and Donald DeVito illustrate adaptive jazz inclusion and performance for public school and university students with disabilities. This collaborative development in qualitative music assessment has taken place through (1) developing methods of communicating recognition of student engagement and affective responses during inclusive engagement in public school music education settings, specifically in Kodaly-based music instruction, K–12 general music classes, and secondary jazz ensembles; (2) using students’ interest and engagement as a means of curriculum development and assessment in inclusive public school music settings; and (3) building collaborative relationships with parents and the community for post-school lifelong music learning.

scholarly journals Food Security, Environmental Health, and the Economy in Mexico: Lessons Learned with the COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7470
Author(s):  
Rebeca Monroy-Torres ◽  
Ángela Castillo-Chávez ◽  
Erika Carcaño-Valencia ◽  
Marco Hernández-Luna ◽  
Alex Caldera-Ortega ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Environmental Health ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Healthy Environment ◽  
Mesh Terms

The COVID-19 pandemic showed an impact mainly on the health of people and the economy of households. The levels of food security in the world’s households, especially in Mexico, have decreased. When people do not have food security, their health is compromised and they have financial problems; on the other hand, environmental deterioration has a link with food security. The purpose of this review is to analysis of the current situation in Mexico of food security, environmental health and economy, the main lessons learned in these areas and their proposals integrating public policies. A review was carried out in the main databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL Plus, Web of Science, CAB Abstracts y PAIS Index) with the following keywords and according to the MeSH terms: Food security, food insecurity, environmental health, public policies, environmental, production, integrating the word COVID-19 in English and Spanish. Only 44.5% of Mexican households presented food security. For food insecurity, 22.6% had moderate and severe food insecurity, while 32.9% had mild insecurity. Food insecurity and the health impacts of environmental origin (waste management during the coronavirus pandemic, water contaminated by bacteria, viruses, and toxins; air pollution) generates impacts on economic activity by not offering food that meets health regulations. Without the application of cost-effective measures and interventions for the prevention and control of patients with obesity, the direct costs for 2023 will amount to 9 million dollars, which worsens the household economy. Despite having laws and policies on the right to food, a healthy environment (water), and opportunities for economic growth, these human rights are not fulfilled. The conclusion is that it is necessary to use a health and agroecological model to promote public policies (health, environment, and economy) that aims to prevent the discussed issues, with multidisciplinary and intersectoral interventions (government, academia, researchers, civil society organizations, industry, and population). This upholds the human right that all people should enjoy an adequate, healthy environment and have access to high-quality food.

scholarly journals Food insecurity, diet quality and body composition: data from the Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative (HeLTI) pilot survey in urban Soweto, South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Sarah H Kehoe ◽  
Stephanie V Wrottesley ◽  
Lisa Ware ◽  
Alessandra Prioreschi ◽  
Catherine Draper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Body Composition ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Diet Quality ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Healthy Life ◽  
Life Trajectories

Abstract Objective: To determine whether food security, diet diversity and diet quality are associated with anthropometric measurements and body composition among women of reproductive age. The association between food security and anaemia prevalence was also tested. Design: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative (HeLTI) study. Food security and dietary data were collected by an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Hb levels were measured using a HemoCue, and anaemia was classified as an altitude-adjusted haemoglobin level < 12·5 g/dl. Body size and composition were assessed using anthropometry and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Setting: The urban township of Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa. Participants: Non-pregnant women aged 18–25 years (n 1534). Results: Almost half of the women were overweight or obese (44 %), and 9 % were underweight. Almost a third of women were anaemic (30 %). The prevalence rates of anaemia and food insecurity were similar across BMI categories. Food insecure women had the least diverse diets, and food security was negatively associated with diet quality (food security category v. diet quality score: B = –0·35, 95 % CI –0·70, –0·01, P = 0·049). Significant univariate associations were observed between food security and total lean mass. However, there were no associations between food security and body size or composition variables in multivariate models. Conclusions: Our data indicate that food security is an important determinant of diet quality in this urban-poor, highly transitioned setting. Interventions to improve maternal and child nutrition should recognise both food security and the food environment as critical elements within their developmental phases.

Determinants of food insecurity among elderly people: findings from the Canadian Community Health Survey

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Moses Mosonsieyiri Kansanga ◽  
Yujiro Sano ◽  
Isaac Bayor ◽  
Joseph Asumah Braimah ◽  
Abraham Marshall Nunbogu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Health Survey ◽  
Policy Issue ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Canadian Community Health Survey ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Community Health Survey

Abstract Food insecurity among elderly people is a major public health concern due to its association with several health conditions. Despite growing research and implementation of diverse income-based policy measures, food insecurity among elderly people remains a major policy issue in Canada. Additional research could inform food policy beyond strategies that target improving the financial resources of elderly people. Drawing data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (N = 24,930), we explored the correlates of food insecurity among older adults using negative log-log logistic regression techniques. Our findings show that certain categories of elderly people are more prone to food insecurity. These segments include seniors who are visible minorities (OR = 1.29, p < 0.01), live alone (OR = 1.13, p < 0.05), have a very weak sense of community belonging (OR = 1.40, p < 0.001), in poor physical health (OR = 1.20, p < 0.01), and those in lower age and income categories. These findings corroborate previous studies that demonstrate that food insecurity among elderly people is a complex phenomenon influenced by diverse socio-economic factors. In Canada, food security policies targeted at elderly people have largely prioritised poverty alleviation through income support programmes. While these programmes can improve the purchasing power of elderly people, they may not be sufficient in ensuring food security. There is a need to embrace and further investigate an integrated approach that pays attention to other contextual socio-economic dynamics.

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