Marketing to Promote School Meals
School meals are a key in reducing food insecurity. While most students have returned to in-person learning after the 2020 school closures, COVID-19 continues to affect students and families. In addition, in 2021, California became the first state in the U.S. to pass School Meals For All, legislation which will provide all public school children with free school meals, regardless of income status.
Given this momentum, it is important to work with food service directors, parents, students, community partners, and advocates to design community-informed solutions to improve participation in school meal programs.
Goals
The goals of this study are to:
Use a participatory approach to work with parents and school officials to design an intervention focused on communicating the benefits of school meals and to test marketing strategies to improve their appeal.
Conduct a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial to understand how the intervention affects parents’ satisfaction with school meals, students’ participation in meals, and food insecurity.
evaluation Methods
Surveys of parents about meal satisfaction and food insecurity
Observations of school meals provided to students
Surveys of food service directors about perceptions of the intervention and impact on meal participation
Study status
Recruiting
Policy Implications
Study findings will be used to maximize participation in school meals. This is critical as California’s Free School Meals for All rolls out in school year 2022-2023.
FunderS
Stanford Maternal & Child Health Research Institute, Stanford Impact Labs Scholars in Service Program, William S and Nancy E Thompson Foundation
