Observational studyJournal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics2024
Emergency Free School Meal Distribution During the COVID-19 Pandemic in High-Poverty Urban Settings.
Observational study in Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Emergency Free School Meal Distribution Across Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Study.The Journal of school health · 2025Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic triggered nationwide school closures in March 2020, putting millions of children in the United States who were reliant on subsidized school meals at risk of experiencing hunger. In response, the US Department of Agriculture mobilized the Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer Option program to provide emergency free school meals. There is a need to investigate the effectiveness of these programs in covering underresourced communities during the pandemic.
objectiveThis study assessed associations between meal distribution and census tract demographics (ie, poverty level, race/ethnicity, and deprivation level based on social deprivation index score).
designAn observational study using longitudinal meal distribution data collected over an 18-month period following school closures (March 2020 to August 2021). PARTICIPANTS AND
settingMonthly meal distribution data were collected for community sites serving 142 census tracts within 4 urban New Jersey cities predominantly populated by people with low incomes and from racial and ethnic minority groups.
main outcome measuresMain outcome measures were the number of meals served monthly by Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer Option meal sites. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: A 2-part multivariable regression approach was used to analyze the data.
resultsIn the first step, logistic regression models showed that high-deprivation tracts were more likely to serve meals during the observed period (odds ratio 3.43, 95% CI 1.001 to 11.77; P = 0.0499). In the second step, among tracts that served any meals during the observed period, mixed effects negative binomial regression models showed that high-poverty and high-deprivation tracts served comparatively more meals (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 2.83, 95% CI 2.29 to 3.51; P < 0.001 and IRR 1.94, 95% CI 1.65 to 2.28; P < 0.001, respectively).
conclusionsFindings show that meal distribution during the pandemic was higher within census tracts with higher poverty and deprivation levels, indicating that underresourced communities with higher need had more free meals available during this unprecedented public health emergency.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.