Free Lunch for All! The Effect of the Community Eligibility Provision on Academic Outcomes

Gordanier, John; Öztürk, Orgül; Williams, Breyon; Zhan, Crystal

doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2020.101999

Cited by 37 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Failure to sign up for free or reduced-price meals may occur due to social stigma, a lack of information, or challenges with enrolling. Universal free meals also reach students who come from households with food insecurity, but which are not eligible for reduced-priced meals due to family incomes slightly above the eligibility threshold (185% of the federal poverty level) [88,[101][102][103].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two studies examined universal free school meals and attendance. Gordanier et al evaluated 3-8th grade students throughout South Carolina and found CEP was inversely associated with absences (i.e., improved attendance) among elementary students but not middle school students [88]. Bartfeld and colleagues examined elementary schools throughout Wisconsin and found that after two years of exposure, there were no associations between CEP and overall attendance rates, but a 3.5 percentage point reduction was observed in the percent of low-income students with low attendance (p = 0.045) [89].…”

Section: Attendancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among studies examining school meal provisions that include lunch in the U.S., Gordanier et al's study among 3-8th grade students in South Carolina found that CEP was positively associated with math test scores (0.06 standard deviation increase) among elementary students, but did not have any significant associations with reading scores in elementary school, nor any test scores among middle school students [88]. Similarly, Schwartz et al found a positive association between Provision 2 and academic performance among middle school students in New York City; math and English Language Arts standardized test scores were significantly higher, with the greatest improvements observed among higher-income students [39].…”

Section: Academic Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Universal School Meals and Associations with Student Participation, Attendance, Academic Performance, Diet Quality, Food Security, and Body Mass Index: A Systematic Review

et al. 2021

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The school environment plays an important role in children’s diets and overall health, and policies for universal free school meals have the potential to contribute to positive child health outcomes. This systematic review evaluates studies examining the association between universal free school meals and students’ school meal participation rates, diets, attendance, academic performance, and Body Mass Index (BMI), as well as school finances. The search was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). A search for studies published in economically developed countries published through December 2020 was performed in PubMed, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Thomson Reuters’ Web of Science, and Academic Search Ultimate, followed by examining the references in the resultant literature. A total of 47 studies were identified and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was applied to assess bias. Nearly all studies examining universal free school meals found positive associations with school meal participation. Most studies examining universal free school meals that included free lunch found positive associations with diet quality, food security, and academic performance; however, the findings of studies examining only universal free breakfast were mixed. Research findings were similarly mixed when examining attendance as an outcome. Concerns about adverse outcomes on student BMI were not supported by the literature; in fact, several studies detected a potentially protective effect of universal free school meals on BMI. Research examining the impact of universal free meals on school finances was limited, but suggest that lower-income school districts in the U.S. may have positive financial outcomes from participation in universal free school meal provisions. Additionally, providing free meals to students may be associated with improved household incomes, particularly among lower-income families with children. Further research is needed to examine the financial implications of universal free meals for both school districts and families. Overall, universal free school meals may have multiple benefits for students and countries should consider universal free school meal provisions with strong nutrition guidelines. (PROSPERO registration: CRD42020221782).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Attendancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Academic Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Universal School Meals and Associations with Student Participation, Attendance, Academic Performance, Diet Quality, Food Security, and Body Mass Index: A Systematic Review

et al. 2021

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“…Prior to COVID-19, approximately 14% of households with children experienced food insecurity (Feeding America, n.d.), which has a negative effect on children's academic performance, weight gain, and social skills (Jyoti et al, 2005). As participation in school meal programs decreases food insecurity and increases nutrition (Food Research & Action Center, n.d.), it is unsurprising that school meals are associated with improved health (Davis & Musaddiq, 2019), behavior (Gordon & Ruffini, 2019), and academic achievement (Ruffini, 2018;Gordanier et al, 2020). School meals are most important for nearly 30 million students who participate in the National School Lunch Program and the nearly 15 million students who participate in the School Breakfast program (Billings, 2020).…”

Section: Background Child Food Insecurity and School Mealsmentioning

confidence: 99%

It Shouldn’t Take a Pandemic to Increase School Meal Access for Low-Income Students: A Two-Step Floating Catchment Area Analysis of School Meal Access during COVID-19

Jabbari,

Chun,

Nandan

et al. 2020

SSRN Journal

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“…Evidence from the present study could be useful to program administrators making decisions about whether to adopt CEP in their schools as well as to contribute to the growing body of impact evaluations regarding the program across the country. (4,(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22) Only five years into the nationwide implementation, studying the impacts of CEP is an active area of research to which this paper contributes. Evidence on the immediate and proximate impacts of CEP adoption have consistently been shown to be positive, but modest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nationally Representative Estimates of the Cost of Adequate Diets, Nutrient Level Drivers, and Policy Options for Households in Rural Malawi

Schneider

2021

SSRN Journal

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Objective: To determine the impact of opting into the Community Eligibility Program (CEP) on school meal participation among students in Texas.Design: A quasi-experimental design using a two-way fixed effects panel difference-in-difference model and the variation in adoption timing to estimate the impact of opting into CEP on student breakfast and lunch participation in eligible, ever-adopting schools.Setting: All public and charter K-12 schools in Texas participating in national school meals (breakfast and/or lunch) from 2013-2019 who are eligible for the CEP program in at least one year and choose to opt into the program in at least one year (n=2,797 unique schools and 16,103 school-years).Participants: School level administrative data from the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) on meal counts, enrollment, and summary characteristics of students merged with district level educational and sociodemographic data from the Texas Education Authority (TEA). Results:We find opting into CEP increased school breakfast participation by 4.59 percentage points (p<0.001) and lunch participation by 4.32 percentage points (p<0.001), on average. The effect is slightly larger (4.64 and 4.61, respectively) and still significant at the one percent level when excluding summer months. Conclusion:Our findings suggest that opting into CEP modestly increases school meal participation in Texas, with a similar impact on breakfast and lunch.

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Free Lunch for All! The Effect of the Community Eligibility Provision on Academic Outcomes

Cited by 37 publications

References 23 publications

Universal School Meals and Associations with Student Participation, Attendance, Academic Performance, Diet Quality, Food Security, and Body Mass Index: A Systematic Review

Universal School Meals and Associations with Student Participation, Attendance, Academic Performance, Diet Quality, Food Security, and Body Mass Index: A Systematic Review

It Shouldn’t Take a Pandemic to Increase School Meal Access for Low-Income Students: A Two-Step Floating Catchment Area Analysis of School Meal Access during COVID-19

Nationally Representative Estimates of the Cost of Adequate Diets, Nutrient Level Drivers, and Policy Options for Households in Rural Malawi

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