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Low-income Children's participation in the National School Lunch Program and household food insufficiency

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  • Huang, Jin
  • Barnidge, Ellen

Abstract

Assessing the impact of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) on household food insufficiency is critical to improve the implementation of public food assistance and to improve the nutrition intake of low-income children and their families. To examine the association of receiving free/reduced-price lunch from the NSLP with household food insufficiency among low-income children and their families in the United States, the study used data from four longitudinal panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP; 1996, 2001, 2004, and 2008), which collected information on household food insufficiency covering both summer and non-summer months. The sample included 15, 241 households with at least one child (aged 5–18) receiving free/reduced-price lunch from the NSLP. A dichotomous measure describes whether households have sufficient food to eat in the observed months. Fixed-effects regression analysis suggests that the food insufficiency rate is .7 (95%CI: .1, 1.2) percentage points higher in summer months among NSLP recipients. Since low-income families cannot participate in the NSLP in summer when the school is not in session, the result indicates the NSLP participation is associated with a reduction of food insufficiency risk by nearly 14%. The NSLP plays a significant role to protect low-income children and their families from food insufficiency. It is important to increase access to school meal programs among children at risk of food insufficiency in order to ensure adequate nutrition and to mitigate the health problems associated with malnourishment among children.

Suggested Citation

  • Huang, Jin & Barnidge, Ellen, 2016. "Low-income Children's participation in the National School Lunch Program and household food insufficiency," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 8-14.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:150:y:2016:i:c:p:8-14
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.12.020
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    4. Ruffini, Krista, 2018. "Universal Access to Free School Meals and Student Achievement: Evidence from the Community Eligibility Provision," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt2c79q8fc, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    5. Ralston, Katherine & Treen, Katie & Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Guthrie, Joanne, 2017. "Children’s Food Security and USDA Child Nutrition Programs," Economic Information Bulletin 259730, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    6. Davis, Will & Kreisman, Daniel & Musaddiq, Tareena, 2023. "The Effect of Universal Free School Meals on Child BMI," IZA Discussion Papers 16387, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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