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Free Lunch for All! The Effect of the Community Eligibility Provision on Academic Outcomes

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  • Gordanier, John
  • Ozturk, Orgul
  • Williams, Breyon
  • Zhan, Crystal

Abstract

We analyze the effect of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a universal free-lunch program, on elementary and middle school students' academic performance and attendance in the state of South Carolina. As part of the program, eligible schools can provide free lunches to all students, regardless of whether an individual student qualifies for free or reduced lunch. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we show that CEP leads to about 0.06 of a standard deviation increase in math test scores for elementary school students. We find smaller effects on reading scores and on middle school students. These effects also vary by student poverty, school poverty, and locality. In particular, we find students that were previously eligible for free lunches but not on other public assistance programs benefit the most from CEP. The results may suggest that the expansion of access to free lunch help improve students' academic outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Gordanier, John & Ozturk, Orgul & Williams, Breyon & Zhan, Crystal, 2020. "Free Lunch for All! The Effect of the Community Eligibility Provision on Academic Outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:77:y:2020:i:c:s0272775719307605
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2020.101999
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jason Jabbari & Yung Chun & Pranav Nandan & Laura McDermott & Tyler Frank & Sarah Moreland-Russell & Dan Ferris & Stephen Roll, 2021. "How Did School Meal Access Change during the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Two-Step Floating Catchment Area Analysis of a Large Metropolitan Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Abouk, Rahi & Adams, Scott, 2022. "Breakfast After the Bell: The Effects of Expanding Access to School Breakfasts on the Weight and Achievement of Elementary School Children," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    4. Marcus, Michelle & Yewell, Katherine G., 2022. "The Effect of Free School Meals on Household Food Purchases: Evidence from the Community Eligibility Provision," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    5. Joseph Owuondo, 2023. "Influence of State on Education, Innovation, and Industry Development: State of California Policy Impact Analysis," International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI), vol. 10(10), pages 107-114, October.
    6. Brown, Alyssa, 2024. "Who takes up a free lunch? Summer Food Service Program availability and household grocery food spending," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    7. Krista Ruffini & Orgül Öztürk & Pelin Pekgün, 2023. "In-Kind Government Assistance and Crowd-Out of Charitable Services: Evidence from Free School Meals," CESifo Working Paper Series 10763, CESifo.
    8. Dirk Bethmann & Jae Il Cho, 2021. "Free-School-Lunch Policies: Impact Evaluation on Student BMI and Mental Health," Discussion Paper Series 2107, Institute of Economic Research, Korea University.
    9. repec:ags:aaea22:335700 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Ashlea Braun & Joshua D. Hawley & Jennifer A. Garner, 2022. "Maintaining School Foodservice Operations in Ohio during COVID-19: “This [Was] Not the Time to Sit Back and Watch”," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-14, May.
    11. Cuadros-Meñaca, Andres & Thomsen, Michael R. & Nayga, Rodolfo M., 2022. "The effect of breakfast after the bell on student academic achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    12. Xueyi Duan & Yinhe Liang & Xiaobo Peng, 2024. "Free school meals and cognitive ability: Evidence from China's student nutrition improvement plan," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(7), pages 1480-1502, July.
    13. Padilla-Romo, María, 2022. "Full-time schools, policy-induced school switching, and academic performance," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 79-103.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    School Meals; Academic Performance; CEP; Free Lunch; Poverty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education

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