Abstract
Background
One in six US households with children experiences food insecurity, with higher rates
in the summer. Approximately 3 million children receive free meals each summer weekday
through the US Department of Agriculture’s Summer Nutrition Programs. However, participation
in these programs has been declining in recent years and is lower than participation
in programs that serve free or reduced-price meals during the school year.
Objective
To identify school and site characteristics associated with greater reach by school-based
free summer meals program sites.
Design
This observational study combined program data, public school data, and Google Maps
data to determine factors associated with site reach.
Participants/setting
LunchStop Summer Meals Program sites (N=100) and schools at which they were based during summer 2018 in Chicago, IL.
Main outcome measures
Reach of sites was measured by the mean daily meals served at each site throughout
summer 2018.
Statistical analyses performed
Associations between site reach and each independent variable were evaluated using
Mann-Whitney tests and simple linear regressions. Variables significantly associated
with site reach in bivariate analyses (P<0.05) were included in a multivariate linear regression.
Results
In bivariate analyses, sites with greater reach were significantly more likely to
be based at schools with higher attendance percentages, higher percentages of Hispanic/Latino
students, larger student populations, and locations in a network of southwest Chicago
schools. Those with greater reach were also significantly more likely to have continuity
in program staff and more years of site operation (all P values ≤0.01). The last four factors remained significant in multivariate analysis.
Conclusions
School-based summer meals programs may be able to reach more vulnerable children by
taking into account continuity among sites and staff. Further research is needed to
clarify whether the relationships between these variables and increased reach is causal.
Keywords
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Biography
H. Litt is a medical student, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
Biography
A. Volerman is an assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics, Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Chicago , Chicago, IL
Biography
A. Polke is a dietitian, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago, IL.
Biography
J. Tully is a health information manager, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago, IL.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 04, 2020
Accepted:
April 1,
2020
Received:
November 9,
2019
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This work was generously funded by the Bucksbaum Institute of Clinical Excellence and the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. The funders had no role in the design, analysis, or writing of this article.
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
