Abstract
Since 1975, the US Department of Agriculture has sponsored the Summer Food Service
Program as a nationwide strategy for providing nutritious meals to children and youth
(aged 18 years or younger) in low-income communities during the summer months. Many
programs are sponsored by community organizations as well as school districts that
may offer the program through the Summer Food Service Program or a seamless waiver,
allowing them to extend school meals programs into the summer. These summer nutrition
programs are designed to decrease food insecurity and improve health outcomes among
at-risk populations. However, the characteristics of these programs, including the
types of participants reached, and the programs’ influence on outcomes such as academics,
behavior, and physical and mental health, have not been summarized. The aims of this
narrative review are to present existing knowledge about the characteristics of summer
nutrition programs and their influence on students, to identify knowledge gaps, and
to identify future research needs. An extensive search identified eight peer-reviewed
articles and 10 reports, briefs, or other documents reporting research on the Summer
Food Service Program. A variety of additional literature was reviewed to provide relevant
information about summer nutrition programs. The review revealed a dearth of research
regarding current Summer Food Service Program implementation. Summer nutrition programs
alleviated food insecurity among at-risk populations; however, little research was
found about the influence of summer programs on students’ dietary intake or weight
outcomes. More rigorous and mixed-methods studies examining the characteristics and
influence of summer nutrition programs are needed.
Keywords
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Biography
L. Turner is a research professor, Initiative for Healthy Schools, College of Education, Boise State University, Boise, ID.
Biography
H. Calvert is an assistant research professor, Initiative for Healthy Schools, College of Education, Boise State University, Boise, ID.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 09, 2019
Accepted:
February 8,
2019
Received:
May 23,
2018
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This review was supported by Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS L. Turner conducted the literature search, coded articles, wrote the first draft, and reviewed and finalized the submission draft. H. G. Calvert coded articles, contributed to the first draft, and reviewed and commented on subsequent drafts of the manuscript.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
