At least eight U.S. states currently offer universal free school meal programs, providing meals at no cost to all students regardless of household income. While marketing campaigns may help increase student participation, limited research has examined what message content and design most effectively motivate parents to encourage school meal use. This qualitative study explored parents’ More

This study examined the impact of deimplementing universal free school meal (UFSM) policies compared with continuing UFSM at the state level. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in spring 2023 with 941 school food authorities (SFAs) across eight U.S. states, assessing outcomes such as meal participation, foodservice revenues, staffing needs, administrative burdens, stigma, and student meal More

In 2022, Colorado became one of the first states in the nation to pass a universal free school meal program when Proposition FF created Colorado Healthy School Meals for All (HSMA). In May 2025, the Colorado General Assembly passed HB25-1274 to fully fund the HSMA program, which has been referred to two ballot measures in More

Universal free school meals (UFSMs) can reduce disparities in food and nutrition security by addressing barriers to accessing nutritious food. Eight states have passed permanent UFSMs policies and others are underway; however, existing research mainly considers the effects of UFSMs without examining their implementation. This study aims to: 1) Describe how UFSMs have been implemented More

Taxing sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) has been identified as a key policy lever to reduce consumption of sugary drinks and to fund nutrition and physical activity programs. This paper analyzes news coverage of three SSB tax proposals in Richmond and El Monte, Calif., and Telluride, Colo., in 2012 and 2013. Although these three proposals failed, news More

In 2013, Telluride, Colo., proposed a tax on sugary drinks that would require local business owners to pay the city one cent per ounce of sugar-sweetened beverages sold. The proposed tax did not pass, but generated a large amount of news coverage and controversy. This report evaluates the news coverage the proposal generated, examining the More

Taxes on sugary drinks have been identified as a policy tool that could reduce consumption of these beverages or raise funds to address associated health expenses. To date, tax proposals have met stiff opposition from the beverage industry and others. An unsuccessful ballot measure in November 2013 to place a one-cent tax per ounce on More

Competitive foods are foods and beverages that compete with school meal programs. They are sold through vending machines, a la carte cafeteria lines, school stores and other venues. Given that the foods and beverages available in schools have a significant impact on children’s diets and their weight, it is important to understand how competitive foods More

Competitive foods are foods and beverages that compete with school meal programs. They are sold through vending machines, a la carte cafeteria lines, school stores and other venues. Given that the foods and beverages available in schools have a significant impact on children’s diets and their weight, it is important to understand how competitive foods More

This paper describes the initial influence of Local Wellness Policies (LWPs) on the school nutrition environments and policies in lower-income, rural Colorado elementary schools. Overall, the researchers found that the LWPs were weakly worded and rarely addressed energy content, but researchers observed three improvements after the LWP mandate went into effect: 1) an increase in More