{"id":62685,"date":"2022-05-04T15:36:15","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T19:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=62685"},"modified":"2022-05-04T15:36:15","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T19:36:15","slug":"universal-access-to-free-meals-at-schools-can-lead-to-lower-grocery-bills-and-healthier-food-purchases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/universal-access-to-free-meals-at-schools-can-lead-to-lower-grocery-bills-and-healthier-food-purchases\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal access to free meals at schools can lead to lower grocery bills and healthier food purchases"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nFamilies with children can save US$11 to $39 per month, or $132 to $468 per year, on groceries through the\u00a0Community Eligibility Provision<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a federal program through which high-poverty schools or districts provide free breakfast and lunch to all students regardless of family income. This is according to a\u00a0new study<\/a>\u00a0that uses\u00a0data on purchases made by 40,000 to 60,000 U.S. households annually<\/a>\u00a0to examine how the program benefits families.<\/p>\n

Research has estimated that eating a healthy diet\u00a0costs about $1.50 more per day<\/a>\u00a0than eating a less healthy diet. For that reason, when families save money by spending less on groceries, the savings may result in changes to the quality of their households\u2019 diet. In fact, when households save money from this program, they are able to reallocate their spending toward purchasing healthier food.<\/p>\n

We find that low-income households purchase groceries that are 3% healthier after the program becomes available. This is based on changes in their\u00a0diet score<\/a>, a scale we constructed with values that range from negative one to positive one, with higher values indicating\u00a0healthier food purchases<\/a>\u00a0according to doctor recommendations.<\/p>\n

Finally, we show that overall household\u00a0food insecurity<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 where households have limited or uncertain access to adequate food \u2013 declines by almost 5% after the program becomes available. This is despite the fact that\u00a0students from low-income families<\/a>\u00a0already qualified for free school meals<\/a>\u00a0before the program.<\/p>\n

Our findings suggest that expanding safety net programs and reducing barriers to access can help families, including families that were not participating in the program even though they were eligible.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Historically, many students from low-income households have\u00a0not participated in free school meals<\/a>\u00a0despite being eligible. This\u00a0may be due to stigma<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0discrimination<\/a>\u00a0or due to the difficulty of applying for the program.<\/p>\n

Schools or districts with at least 40% low-income students can participate in the Community Eligibility Provision, which makes free meals accessible to everyone. In participating schools, students from low-income households no longer need to apply for the program and are less likely to feel singled out. This increases the number of students who eat free school meals, and schools that participate\u00a0serve more meals<\/a>\u00a0than before the universal free school meal program.<\/p>\n

Universal meals can also help\u00a0improve students\u2019 health<\/a>,\u00a0reduce absenteeism<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0increase earnings later in life<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What still isn\u2019t known<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Our results provide evidence on just one aspect of overall dietary quality, which is food purchased at grocery stores. We lack information on the\u00a0nutritional quality of school meals<\/a>, which can vary by school and over time as schools meet new standards from the\u00a0Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We also do not know how much each household spends on eating\u00a0food outside the home<\/a>\u00a0at sit-down or fast-food restaurants or the dietary quality of these meals. We are also unable to say which family members consume specific grocery purchases, so each\u00a0family member\u2019s diet<\/a>\u00a0may be different.<\/p>\n

Finally, we are not able to say for certain that the food purchased is actually consumed by household members instead of\u00a0going to waste<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Our study reveals that access to universal free school meals can significantly improve household budgets and food security, which may reduce\u00a0stress, depression<\/a>\u00a0and other related\u00a0adverse outcomes<\/a>\u00a0that disproportionately affect low-income households.<\/p>\n

Ongoing work<\/a>\u00a0suggests teenagers with access to the universal free school meal program may experience improvements in overall health, sleep and mental health. Future research could explore additional benefits of these improved outcomes in more depth.<\/p>\n

Author Bios:<\/strong> Michelle Marcus is Assistant Professor of Economics at Vanderbilt University and Katherine G. Yewell is an Assistant Professor at the University of Louisville<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Families with children can save US$11 to $39 per month, or $132 to $468 per year, on groceries through the\u00a0Community Eligibility Provision\u00a0\u2013 a federal program through which high-poverty schools or districts provide free breakfast and lunch to all students regardless of family income. This is according to a\u00a0new study\u00a0that uses\u00a0data on purchases made by 40,000 […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15645],"tags":[429019],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-62685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-free-meals"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUniversal access to free meals at schools can lead to lower grocery bills and healthier food purchases - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/universal-access-to-free-meals-at-schools-can-lead-to-lower-grocery-bills-and-healthier-food-purchases\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Universal access to free meals at schools can lead to lower grocery bills and healthier food purchases - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Families with children can save US$11 to $39 per month, or $132 to $468 per year, on groceries through the\u00a0Community Eligibility Provision\u00a0\u2013 a federal program through which high-poverty schools or districts provide free breakfast and lunch to all students regardless of family income. 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