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COVID-19 Working Paper: Filling the Pandemic Meal Gap: Disruptions to Child Nutrition Programs and Expansion of Free Meal Sites in the Early Months of the Pandemic

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  • Toossi, Saied

Abstract

Beginning in March 2020, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic struck the United States abruptly and unexpectedly, forcing the school and childcare center closures nationwide. These closures disrupted the provision of meals to children through the largest of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) child nutrition programs. In response, USDA issued a series of waivers to facilitate the continued provision of meals to children while prioritizing the health and safety of communities. This study assesses the extent to which the child nutrition infrastructure was able to rapidly adapt to meet the needs of children at the onset of the crisis. It documents disruptions in the provision of meals through the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program from March through May 2020. In addition, this report examines the extent waivers allowed for greater flexibility in the implementation of these programs and the expansion of free meal sites helped to compensate for these disruptions.

Suggested Citation

  • Toossi, Saied, 2021. "COVID-19 Working Paper: Filling the Pandemic Meal Gap: Disruptions to Child Nutrition Programs and Expansion of Free Meal Sites in the Early Months of the Pandemic," Administrative Publications 327342, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersap:327342
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.327342
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Toossi, Saied & Jones, Jordan W & Hodges, Leslie, 2021. "The Food and Nutrition Assistance Landscape: Fiscal Year 2020 Annual Report," Economic Information Bulletin 327366, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    2. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Gregory, Christian A. & Singh, Anita, 2020. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2019," Agricultural Economic Reports 305691, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Jordan W. Jones, 2021. "COVID-19 Working Paper: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Redemptions during the Coronavirus Pandemic," USDA Miscellaneous 310389, United States Department of Agriculture.
    4. Zachary Parolin & Emma K. Lee, 2021. "Large socio-economic, geographic and demographic disparities exist in exposure to school closures," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(4), pages 522-528, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jones, Jordan & Toossi, Saied & Hodges, Leslie, 2022. "The Food and Nutrition Assistance Landscape: Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Report," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 2022(Economic ), June.
    2. Toossi, Saied & Todd, Jessica E. & Guthrie, Joanne & Ollinger, Michael, 2024. "The National School Lunch Program: Background, Trends, and Issues, 2024 Edition," Economic Information Bulletin 347312, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Amanda A. Harb & Katherine J. Roberts & Julia E. McCarthy & Pamela A. Koch, 2022. "Comparison of Missing School Meals among Public Schools: How Did New York State Do during COVID-19?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-11, May.
    4. Huang, Junhua & Valizadeh, Pourya & Bryant, Henry & Priestley, Samuel, 2024. "How Did the Expiration of SNAP Emergency Allotments Affect Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Purchases of SNAP Households?," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 344186, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Toossi, Saied, 2023. "Cost of School Meals and Households’ Difficulty Paying for Expenses: Evidence from the Household Pulse Survey," Economic Brief 340805, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

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