Schools are an important setting for addressing childhood obesity. More than 54 million U.S. children attend school, and 8.4 million youth are in after-school programs located in schools, parks, and recreational centers. A substantial portion of school-aged children’s daily food and caloric intake occurs within the school and after-school environment. The aim of the research in this area is to understand how school and after-school food policies and environments can help prevent childhood obesity.
Fast Fact
School & After School
Research & Publications
June 2021
7 Key Findings on The Benefits of Healthy School Meals for All
Schools play a vital role in promoting children’s health and well-being. In the United States, schools contribute significantly to children’s overall diet quality and can provide up to half of their daily calories, especially among children from low-income families. Providing healthy school meals for all is a policy opportunity to … More
May 2021
Strengthening the Impact of USDA’s Child Nutrition Summer Feeding Programs During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic
To address food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic, utilization of the USDA child nutrition summer feeding programs has drastically increased. Given the unprecedented use of the summer feeding programs, this research brief will (1) explain the meal pattern requirements and select operational differences between the summer feeding programs and the … More
March 2021
Special Issue on School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study-I: Findings Related to Improving Diet Quality, Weight, and Disparities in U.S. Children
School meals are important contributors to the healthy diets of our nation’s children, especially those in food insecure households, according to new papers published in a special issue of the journal Nutrients. The papers address urgent policy challenges related to food security, childhood obesity, sugar consumption, and racial and ethnic … More
September 2020
Schools Find Success in Reducing Sodium in Meals
Strong nutrition standards for school meals, consistent with evidence-based recommendations, position children for optimal health and wellbeing. Strong science supports the link between lowering sodium intake and better health. This new issue brief from Healthy Eating Research examines the recent history of sodium standards for school meals. It highlights current sodium intake … More