School Feeding Programs in Middle Childhood and Adolescence

Drake, Lesley; Fernandes, Meena; Aurino, Elisabetta; Kiamba, Josephine; Giyose, Boitshepo; Burbano, Carmen; Alderman, Harold; Lu, Mai; Mitchell, A. Graeme; Gelli, Aulo

doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-0423-6_ch12

Cited by 45 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Although there are relatively few investments proven to be cost-effective at scale after the first 1000 d (2), preschool and school-based programs may be a practical platform to reach children and adolescents at scale. Although less cost-effective for addressing undernutrition than early interventions (3), school feeding—or school meals—is a multisectoral intervention with impacts across education, health and nutrition, and food security that is widely implemented; globally, programs reach ∼368 million children for a total investment of ∼$70 billion a year (4). Rigorous studies have shown that school feeding can improve school attendance and learning, as well as a child's physical and psychosocial health [see Kristjansson et al (5) for a systematic review].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A School Meals Program Implemented at Scale in Ghana Increases Height-for-Age during Midchildhood in Girls and in Children from Poor Households: A Cluster Randomized Trial

Gelli

Aurino

Folson

et al. 2019

The Journal of Nutrition

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Background Attention to nutrition during all phases of child and adolescent development is necessary to ensure healthy physical growth and to protect investments made earlier in life. Leveraging school meals programs as platforms to scale-up nutrition interventions is relevant as programs function in nearly every country in the world. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a large-scale school meals program in Ghana on school-age children's anthropometry indicators. Methods A longitudinal cluster randomized control trial was implemented across the 10 regions of Ghana, covering 2869 school-age children (aged 5–15 y). Communities were randomly assigned to 1) control group without intervention or 2) treatment group providing the reformed national school feeding program, providing 1 hot meal/d in public primary schools. Primary outcomes included height-for-age (HAZ) and BMI-for-age (BAZ) z scores. The analysis followed an intention-to-treat approach as per the published protocol for the study population and subgroup analysis by age (i.e., midchildhood for children 5–8 y and early adolescence for children 9–15 y), gender, poverty, and region of residence. We used single-difference ANCOVA with mixed-effect regression models to assess program impacts. Results School meals had no effect on HAZ and BAZ in children aged 5–15 y. However, in per-protocol subgroup analysis, the school feeding intervention improved HAZ in 5- to 8-y-old children (effect size: 0.12 SDs), in girls (effect size: 0.12 SDs)—particularly girls aged 5–8 y living in the northern regions, and in children aged 5–8 y in households living below the poverty line (effect size: 0.22 SDs). There was also evidence that the intervention influenced food allocation and sharing at the household level. Conclusion School meals can provide a platform to scale-up nutrition interventions in the early primary school years, with important benefits accruing for more disadvantaged children. This trial was registered at www.isrctn.com as ISRCTN66918874.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A School Meals Program Implemented at Scale in Ghana Increases Height-for-Age during Midchildhood in Girls and in Children from Poor Households: A Cluster Randomized Trial

Gelli

Aurino

Folson

et al. 2019

The Journal of Nutrition

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“…School meals in the United States are implemented as part of the "National School Lunch Program" and the "Program for Providing Free School Breakfasts" (6 cents to 2.78 dollars). These measures and much more are provided for by the new rules of school feeding in the USA (Drake et al, 2018). New school feeding standards are designed to reduce the problem of overweight and other diseases.…”

Section: United States Of Americamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, lunches and breakfasts should contain at least 1/3 of the daily child's need for protein, iron, calcium, vitamins A and C. American scientists together with invited foreign colleagues have developed four approaches in the formation of school rations. School nutrition specialists (SN operators) are free to choose any of these four approaches (Drake et al, 2018).…”

Section: United States Of Americamentioning

confidence: 99%

Key Principles in Children’s Healthy Nutrition in Schools: A Cross-National Review

Gorelova

Neustroev

Mindzaeva

et al. 2019

TAKSAD

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The paper presents contemporary data of foreign and Russian researchers on the healthy nutrition of schoolchildren. An analysis of the existing forms and principles of school catering is provided; school rations around the world, different approaches to their formation, and new school nutrition standards in the USA and Eastern Europe are described and discussed. The authors focus on the implementation of the National Government programs on the organization of school healthy nutrition in foreign countries. Original research data collected by the Russian scientists on students' taste preferences are also provided in the paper. Our review clearly indicates a number of products that are offered in a school menu do not meet students' taste preferences. The authors also note that there is no continuity between home and school meals. This determines the need to better educate parents, children, and teachers about modern principles and skills of healthy nutrition, to take into account schoolchildren's food preferences, to promote learning to use a "school-family menu" principle. On the basis of the conducted research, the authors recommend creating an effective model of school feeding in the Russian Federation. On the one hand, this model takes into account local experience, while on the other hand, this model is quite universal (consequently, it is applicable in any foreign country, not only in Russia).

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“…Among rural and food insecure households, investments in child schooling are part of decisions related to the time allocation of different household members, poverty and other constraints, perceived returns to education, and social norms. In this context, school feeding may directly benefit children's schooling through two main pathways (Adelman et al, 2008;Lesley Drake et al, 2018).…”

Section: Food-based Social Protection and Schooling During Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

School Feeding or General Food Distribution?

2018

Innocenti Working Papers

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We rely on a unique precrisis baseline and five-year follow-up to investigate the effects of emergency school feeding and general food distribution (GFD) on children's schooling during conflict in Mali. We estimate programme impact on child enrolment, absenteeism and attainment by combining difference in differences with propensity score matching. School feeding led to increases in enrolment by 11 percentage points and to about an additional half-year of completed schooling. Attendance among boys residing in households receiving GFD, however, declined by about 20 per cent over the comparison group. Disaggregating by conflict intensity showed that receipt of any programme led to rises in enrolment mostly in high-intensity conflict areas and that the negative effects of GFD on attendance were also concentrated in the most affected areas. Conversely, school feeding mostly raised attainment among children residing in areas not in the immediate vicinity of the conflict. Programme receipt triggered adjustments in child labour. Thus, school feeding led to lower participation and time spent in work among girls, while GFD raised children's labour, particularly among boys. The educational implications of food assistance should be considered in planning humanitarian responses to bridge the gap between emergency assistance and development by promoting children's education.

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School Feeding Programs in Middle Childhood and Adolescence

Cited by 45 publications

References 67 publications

A School Meals Program Implemented at Scale in Ghana Increases Height-for-Age during Midchildhood in Girls and in Children from Poor Households: A Cluster Randomized Trial

A School Meals Program Implemented at Scale in Ghana Increases Height-for-Age during Midchildhood in Girls and in Children from Poor Households: A Cluster Randomized Trial

Key Principles in Children’s Healthy Nutrition in Schools: A Cross-National Review

School Feeding or General Food Distribution?

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