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"School food programs"
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School food programs and food insecurity at the REACH school network: an observational study
Background
Food insecurity is common in Canada and impacts children more than any other age group. This study aimed to evaluate the association between participation in school food programs and food insecurity among students attending Canada’s largest urban school-based health centre program, the REACH School Network.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional observational study from April 2022 to June 2024 at the REACH School Network. We administered the Growth and Nutrition Questionnaire to parents of children aged 3–17 years. Questions were related to dietary intake and participation in school food programs. Our primary outcome was food insecurity, using the Hunger Vital Sign. Logistic regression estimated the association between regular school food program participation and food insecurity, adjusting for covariates.
Results
Of 477 eligible participants, 316 consented (66.2% response rate), and 223 were included in the analysis. The mean age was 9.21 years (SD = 3.08); 69.1% identified as male. Overall, 134 (60.1%) regularly participated in a school food program. Food insecurity was reported by 97 (43.5%) participants, with similar prevalence among participants (44.8%) and non-participants (41.6%). Logistic regression, both unadjusted (OR = 1.14; 95% CI 0.66–1.97;
P
= 0.637) and adjusted (OR = 0.82; 95% CI 0.42–1.63;
P
= 0.579) found no significant association between school food program participation and food insecurity.
Conclusion
Our study highlights the complex relationship between food insecurity and school food program participation among an at-risk, urban children. Future research is needed, with larger sample sizes and longitudinal designs to better understand these complex relationships.
Journal Article
Considerations for diverse, equitable, and inclusive school food programs in the USA and Canada
School food programs have been shown to support the nutrition of children and their long-term health outcomes in tandem with reducing nutritional inequities experienced by low-income, food insecure, and racialized populations. Understanding the specific needs and outcomes of these equity-deserving groups is crucial when enhancing program implementation and participation in school food programs. A scoping review of equitable, diverse, and inclusive considerations for school food programs was conducted on Canadian and American peer-reviewed and grey literature. The search strategy identified 18 peer-reviewed publications and three grey literature reports that supported the creation of five themes to be explored for school food programs: universal access, food preparation and delivery, sociocultural food preferences, partner involvement, and equitable nutrition. Analysis revealed that while literature surrounding these themes is developing, they serve as a crucial starting point for further research and consideration of the enhancement of school food programs. These themes can support the delivery of a program that is accessible to all students, accommodates their individualized needs, and is free of stigma.
Journal Article
Being well-fed in universal school lunches in Canada: avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach
As Canada is implementing a new national school food program with a long-term vision of every child having access to nutritious food in school, understanding student eating perspectives and food choices in universal programs is paramount. The purpose of this study was to understand how students in two low-income and culturally diverse elementary schools in Saskatoon, Canada, perceived and participated in a 2-year, universal school lunch pilot. This study was part of a larger case study of the Good Food for Learning program. Eleven focus groups with 65 students in grades 5–8 and participatory observation in the schools were conducted. Data analysis followed a reflexive thematic analysis approach Braun V, Clarke V. Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qual Res Sport, Exer Health 2019;11:589–97. doi:10.1080/2159676 × .2019.1628806, Braun V, Clarke V. Can I use TA? Should I use TA? Should I not use TA? Comparing reflexive thematic analysis and other pattern-based qualitative analytic approaches. Counselling Psychother Res 2020;21:37–47. doi:10.1002/capr.12360) using NVivo 12 Plus. Student perspectives centered around being well-fed at lunch. Students saw participation in the pilot as a matter of personal choice: student decision to participate was encouraged by the pilot’s flexible and free design; availability of well-liked food; and the perceived healthiness of the food. Offering culturally diverse and inclusive food was important to students. Mitigating future barriers to student participation in universal lunch programs will require attention to student choice, agency, and diversity, and offering diverse portion sizes, adequate meal lengths, and student-centered infrastructure. School lunch programs that are universal, health promoting, tasty, and free, and offer flexibility and choice to students, may be a socially desirable way to improve student nutrition and wellbeing.
Journal Article
Factors contributing to school food program acceptance: a Review of Canadian literature
Diet quality and food security are a concern in school-aged children in Canada. In 2019, the Canadian federal government announced the intention to work towards a national school food program. Understanding the factors that impact school food program acceptability can inform planning to ensure that students are willing to participate. A scoping review of school food programs in Canada completed in 2019 identified 17 peer-reviewed and 18 grey literature publications. Of these, five peer-reviewed and nine grey literature publications included a discussion of factors that impact the acceptance of school food programs. These factors were thematically analyzed into categories: stigmatization, communication, food choice and cultural considerations, administration, location and timing, and social considerations. Considering these factors while planning can help to maximize program acceptability.
Journal Article
Parent/Caregiver Perceptions of the Good Food for Learning Universal School Lunch Program in Canada
The Good Food for Learning universal school lunch program is a two-year population health intervention research study in two elementary schools in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to implement and evaluate a promising model for school food programs (SFPs) in Canada. A survey was administered to understand parent/caregivers’ perceptions of the free, universal school lunch program, participation, and willingness to pay for a future school lunch program (n = 113). A healthy and cost-free lunch were the top two benefits recognized by parents/caregivers. The survey estimated student participation in the program at 77%. For future program planning, universal and cost-free were favoured program aspects to continue. In addition, 68% of parents/caregivers demonstrated a willingness to pay $2.00 per child per lunch. Understanding parental/caregiver expectations and attitudes towards SFPs can inform the planning, decision-making, and sustainability for future models and a national school food policy in Canada.
Journal Article
An examination of willingness to participate and willingness to pay for a universal school food program in the Canadian context
To examine parents'/caregivers' willingness to participate and willingness to pay (WTP) for a cost-shared school food program (SFP) and its associated factors.
A quantitative survey design was used where WTP for a hypothetical SFP was elicited using a double-bounded dichotomous choice elicitation method. We used a double hurdle (logistic and truncated regression) model to examine WTP and positively or negatively associated factors.
Saskatoon Public School Division elementary schools situated in high-, mid- or low-median-income neighbourhoods.
Parents or caregivers of children attending grades 1 to grade 8 in the Saskatoon Public School Division elementary schools.
94 % respondents were willing to participate in a SFP while less than two-thirds of participants were willing to pay for such a program. Over 90 % respondents from all the socio-economic groups were willing to participate. Multiple household income earners, higher household income, higher number of children, household food security status and higher academic attainment of parents'/caregivers predicted greater willingness to pay. Mean willingness to pay was $4·68 (CAN), and households reporting moderate or severe food insecurity were likely to be willing to pay significantly less for a SFP.
A cost-shared program might be financially sustainable in Canada if community characteristics such as household food insecurity status, economic participation of women and average household size are kept in mind while determining the price of the program.
Journal Article
Children’s Perceptions of the Ontario Student Nutrition Program (OSNP) in Southwestern Ontario, Canada
Purpose: This study aimed to explore children’s lived experiences with the Ontario Student Nutrition Program (OSNP), a free, school-based snack program implemented in elementary schools in Southwestern, Ontario, Canada, to gain insights into future school food programs (SFP). Methods: Focus group discussions (n=17) were conducted with 105 children in Grades 5 to 8 in seven elementary schools. Focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded for themes using inductive content analysis. Results: Overall, children appreciated the OSNP and felt that it filled a need in students. Children also reported a willingness to try novel food items. For future SFPs, participants recommended that input be sought from children to ensure food preferences were considered. Children also discussed wanting more appealing food offerings that may include some choice. Finally, children also mentioned wanting a fair and equitable distribution of food in classrooms. Conclusions: Children appreciated the OSNP and reported benefits to themselves and their peers. They also provided some valuable recommendations for future SFPs. If a nationally funded SFP is to be considered in Canada, children expressed the need to make the program equitable, while still allowing schools the flexibility to meet their unique needs and preferences.
Journal Article
Food spaces that foster student capabilities: insights from a rural Aotearoa New Zealand high school
Abstract
This study explores how a school wharekai (communal dining hall) implementing the Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunch Programme operates as a multidimensional health promotion setting that fosters student capabilities beyond nutrition. Using a qualitative approach grounded in mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and community-based participatory research, we conducted focus groups with 22 students and semi-structured interviews with 12 staff members to examine how the wharekai promotes wellbeing. Findings show that the wharekai provides a culturally responsive environment where three interrelated capabilities flourish: self-management, interpersonal relationships, and community participation. Through daily routines and authentic roles in food preparation, students practise responsibility, initiative, and cooperation. Shared meals strengthen tuakana–teina (peer) relationships and build trust between students and staff, while collective activities foster belonging, reciprocity, and sustainability. Conceptualizing food spaces through cultural frameworks such as the wharekai demonstrates how school food programmes can simultaneously address food insecurity and create transformative learning environments. This study highlights how culturally grounded, settings-based approaches can integrate nutritional, social, and relational dimensions of health promotion, reimagining school food provision as a holistic, capability-building practice that enhances individual and collective wellbeing.
Journal Article
Farm to school programs: exploring the role of regionally-based food distributors in alternative agrifood networks
Farm to school programs are at the vanguard of efforts to create an alternative agrifood system in the United States. Regionally-based, mid-tier food distributors may play an important role in harnessing the potential of farm to school programs to create viable market opportunities for small- and mid-size family farmers, while bringing more locally grown fresh food to school cafeterias. This paper focuses on the perspectives of food distributors. Our findings suggest that the food distributors profiled have the potential to help institutionalize farm to school programs. Notably, their relationships with farmers may be a critical element in expanding the scale and scope of local school food procurement. Their ability to catalyze local school food procurement however, is limited by the structural context in which farm to school programs operate. Specifically, the oppositional school year and agriculture production cycle, and tight food service budget constraints disembed and limit the potential of farm to school programs to decrease the “marketness” of school food procurement and to shift it from a process based largely on price to one that is more territorially embedded. As farm to school programs continue to gain support, regionally-based food distributors that have the meaningful relationships necessary to re-embed the school food service market back into the larger society may be critical to enabling advocates to achieve their goals.
Journal Article