A Qualitative Exploration of Parent and School Staff Perceptions of Freshly Prepared Meals and Food Waste Implications in California Elementary Schools.

Objective: Explore parent and school staff perceptions of freshly prepared school lunches.

Design: Cross-sectional qualitative study, occurring May through June, 2024.

Setting: Urban California elementary schools that recently introduced freshly prepared lunches.

WIC Participant Perspectives: Facilitated by Social Support, Challenged by Shopping Barriers.

Objective: Characterize the facilitators and barriers to participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), among WIC participants, given recent program changes and underutilization.

Design: Qualitative data collected in April through May, 2024.

Setting: Eleven virtual focus groups and 2 interviews.

Impact of Deimplementing Universal Free School Meals: School Food Authority Perspectives.

Objective: To examine the impact of deimplementing universal free school meal (UFSM) policies on school food authorities (SFAs) vs continuing UFSM with state-level policies.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Participants: A total of 941 SFAs in 8 US states with and without UFSM policies completed a survey during the spring of 2023.

Diet Quality and Weight Status are Predicted by Federal Nutrition Assistance Program Participation, Health, and Demographics.

Background: Programs, such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), provide access to vital medical and nutrition services. Few studies have investigated whether demographic, social, and economic determinants of health, including length of time spent on these programs, are associated with diet quality and weight status in early childhood.

Objectives: Classification and regression tree analysis, a machine learning method, was used to determine health predictors to identify patterns of children with higher compared with lower diet quality and higher compared with lower weight status.

Community and School Programs, Policies and Environments Related to Child Dietary Intake:The Healthy Communities Study.

Background: To reverse the epidemic of unhealthy eating and related chronic disease in the United States, intervening early in life is essential.

Objective: Identify features of community- and school-based programmes, policies and environments related to child intake of fruits and vegetables (FV) and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB).

Methods: Dietary intake of children 4-15 years old (n = 5138) from elementary and middle schools in 130 US communities was collected by survey (of parent and/or child) in 2013-2015.

Foodservice Directors' Perceived Barriers to Student Participation in School Meals When Meals Were Served Free of Charge During the 2021-2022 School Year.

Background: School meals were served free of charge to all public school students in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, but some students still did not participate.

Methods: In this mixed-methods study, surveys and interviews were conducted with food service directors (FSDs) from California (n = 556 surveys; n = 29 interviews) and Maine (n = 43 surveys; n = 20 interviews) during spring 2022. Survey data was analyzed using multivariable logistic regression models, and interview data was analyzed using the immersion/crystallization approach.

Understanding Free or Reduced-Price School Meal Stigma: A Qualitative Analysis of Parent Perspectives.

Background: Receiving free or reduced-price meals (FRPM) at school benefits resource-constrained families financially and nutritionally. However, many families in the United States do not apply for FRPM, and many eligible students do not eat school meals, possibly due to stigma.

Methods: This study is a secondary qualitative analysis derived from a mixed-methods study.

California Middle and High School Students Report Wanting Fresh and Healthy School Lunch in the Context of Universal School Meals.

Objective: To evaluate students' perceptions of school lunches served when they were offered free of charge to all students.

Design: Cross-sectional qualitative study using focus groups.

Setting: California students interviewed virtually.

Impact of mealtime social experiences on student consumption of meals at school: a qualitative analysis of caregiver perspectives.

Objective: To understand caregivers' perceptions about their children's mealtime social experiences at school and how they believe these social experiences impact their children's consumption of meals at school (both meals brought from home and school meals).

Design: Qualitative data were originally collected as part of a larger mixed methods study using an embedded-QUAN dominant research design.

Setting: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with United States (U.

Child Beverage Consumption in US Early Care and Education Settings, 2008-2020.

Objective: Describe young children's beverage intake in early care and education (ECE) settings between 2008 and 2020 across multiple states in the US.

Methods: Multivariable-adjusted, age-stratified estimates of beverage consumption among children aged 12-60 months (n = 4,457) in ECE centers and homes (n = 846).

Results: During any given day in ECE, younger children had a 79.

Factors and Outcomes Associated With Using Scratch-Cooked, Organic, and Locally Grown Foods in School Meals in California.

Background: Incorporating scratch-cooked, organic, and locally grown foods into school meal programs can enhance meal quality and support local food systems.

Methods: 430 California school food authorities were surveyed to (1) evaluate their use of scratch-cooked, organic, and locally grown foods in their programs; (2) identify demographic and operational characteristics related to this use; and (3) analyze the relationship between serving more of these foods and perceived barriers to student meal participation. Poisson and logistic regression models, adjusted for SFAs' demographic characteristics, were used.

Infant diet quality index predicts nutrients of concern and ultra-processed food intake in low-income children in the United States.

Background: Diet quality during infancy can influence nutrient intake and ultra-processed foods (UPFs) consumption throughout later childhood.

Objectives: This study investigated the predictive validity of Infant Diet Quality Index (IDQI) scores from 0 to 1 y of age and consumption of select nutrients and UPFs at different time points in low-income children aged 2-5 y.

Methods: Dietary surveys and 24-h dietary recalls collected between ages 0 and 12 months from 2613 Special Supplemental Women, Infants, and Children Infant Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 participants were used to assess infant diet quality by final IDQI score ranging from 0 (nonadherence to dietary guidelines) to 1 (complete adherence to guidelines).

Longer WIC Participation Is Associated With Higher Diet Quality and Consumption of WIC-Eligible Foods Among Children 2-5 Years Old.

Background: Few studies have evaluated trends in diet quality across early childhood, including the extent to which foods and beverages available in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Food Package contribute to children's diets.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the following across ages 2 through 5 years: (1) trends in Healthy Eating Index-2020 (HEI-2020) total and component scores; (2) differences in mean HEI-2020 scores by WIC participation duration; and (3) contributions of the top 5 foods or beverages to HEI-2020 component scores by WIC duration.

Design: This was a secondary analysis of a nationally representative sample of the WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 conducted between 2013 and 2019.

The impact of a water promotion and access intervention on elementary school students in the presence of food insecurity.

Objective: School-based interventions encouraging children to replace sugar-sweetened beverages with water show promise for reducing child overweight. However, students with child food insecurity (CFI) may not respond to nutrition interventions like children who are food-secure.

Design: The Water First cluster-randomised trial found that school water access and promotion prevented child overweight and increased water intake.

Looking to the past: Investigating 10-year place histories as a determinant of home food environments in the Healthy Communities Study.

Emerging research suggests there is a need to consider the importance of place histories in studying neighborhood effects. Guided by a life course of place framework, the objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between two place history exposures and three contemporary home food environment outcomes. Exposures included 10-year neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) histories and multi-year nutrition community programming and policy (CPP) histories.

Perceptions and Experiences of Universal School Meals in California: Qualitative Insights From School Food Authorities on Participation, Stigma, and Operational Benefits and Challenges.

Background: Universal school meals (USM) aim to eliminate barriers to school meal access by providing free meals to all students regardless of family income. During the COVID-19 pandemic, US Department of Agriculture waivers allowed schools nationwide to offer meals free of charge to all students. Although USM have demonstrated positive effects on student health and participation, limited research has focused on the perspectives of the foodservice directors (FSDs) who manage them.

Water First School Water Promotion and Access Intervention: A Cost Analysis Study.

Background: Adequate water intake is associated with improved cognitive and physical performance, prevention of dental caries, and overweight and obesity. However, access to free drinking water in schools remains inadequate. Water First, a school-based intervention promoting water consumption, was shown effective in preventing overweight, yet its costs have not been quantified.

Household Food Insecurity Is Associated with Parental Perceptions of and Student Participation in School Meals.

Background/objectives: School meals are an important source of nutrition for children and have been found to help mitigate food insecurity. This study evaluated the association between food insecurity and school meal participation and whether parental perceptions about school meals differ by food security status.

Methods: In May 2022, 1110 Californian parents of K-12 students shared their perceptions about school meals, including meal quality, healthiness, stigma, and benefits, as well as their child's participation in school meals, in an online survey.

Child and Adult Care Food Program: Family Childcare Home Providers' Perceptions of Impacts of Increased Meal and Snack Reimbursement Rates during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The U.S. Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) provides tiered reimbursements for healthy foods for children at participating family childcare homes (FCCH).

Perceived Influence of a State-Level Universal Free School Meal Policy on Households With Varying Income Levels: An Analysis of Parental Perspectives.

Background: In the United States, a means-tested approach is often used to provide free or reduced-price meals (FRPM) to students from lower-income households. However, federal income thresholds do not account for regional cost of living variations. Thus, many ineligible households may be at risk for food insecurity.

Evaluating the Association of the Increase in the WIC Cash Value Benefit on the Diversity of MyPlate Fruits and Vegetables Redeemed and Consumed By Children in Low-Income Households.

Background: Fruits and vegetables (FV) are a critical source of nutrients, yet children in the United States are not meeting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). The monthly FV cash value benefit (CVB) included in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)'s food package to support child FV intake (FVI) received a substantial increase for economic relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: To evaluate how an expansion of the monthly WIC CVB to purchase FV for WIC children ages 1-4 y is associated with diversity in FV redeemed, and how changes in redeemed FV are related to FVI.

The Benefits and Challenges of Providing School Meals during the First Year of California's Universal School Meal Policy as Reported by School Foodservice Professionals.

States in the U.S. are newly implementing universal school meal (USM) policies, yet little is known about the facilitators of their success and the challenges they confront.

Students' Perspectives on the Benefits and Challenges of Universal School Meals Related to Food Accessibility, Stigma, Participation, and Waste.

Objective: To reveal students' experiences and perspectives related to Universal School Meals (USM) under the federal coronavirus disease 2019 waivers during school years 2021-22.

Design: Qualitative; 17 focus groups in June-July 2022.

Setting: Virtual; students from 9 California regions in public and charter schools.

Parent perceptions of school meals and how perceptions differ by race and ethnicity.

Parental perceptions of school meals can affect student participation and overall support for school meal policies. Little is known about parental school meal perceptions under universal free school meals (UFSM) policies. We assessed California parents' perceptions of school meals during the COVID-19 emergency response with federally funded UFSM and whether perceptions differed by race/ethnicity.

Universal School Meals During the Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Parent Perceptions From California and Maine.

Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Congress authorized the US Department of Agriculture to waive a variety of school meal regulations and funded school meals daily for all students at no charge regardless of family income. Because federal Universal Free School Meals (UFSM) ended with the 2021-2022 school year, several states, including California and Maine, adopted state-level UFSM policies.

Objective: This study aimed to understand parent perceptions of school meals and the federal and new state UFSM policies in California and Maine, including potential challenges and benefits to students and households.