School meals were served free of charge to all public school students in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, but some students still did not participate. In this mixed-methods study, surveys and interviews were conducted with food service directors (FSDs) from California (n = 556 surveys; n = 29 interviews) and Maine (n = 43 surveys; n = 20 interviews) during spring 2022. Students’ preference to eat meals from home or elsewhere (81.5%) and negative perceptions of the school food’s taste (67%) were the most common barriers reported. Schools’ prior community eligibility provision (CEP) participation and smaller student enrollment were associated with fewer reported barriers. Inadequate time to eat lunch and stigma were also reported as barriers to participation.

Full Citation: Olarte, D. A., Gosliner, W., Chapman, L. E., Hecht, C., Hecht, K., Ohri-Vachaspati, P., Patel, A. I., Read, M., Ritchie, L. D., Schwartz, M. B., Zuercher, M. D., Orta-Aleman, D., Polacsek, M., & Cohen, J. F. W. (2025). Foodservice Directors’ Perceived Barriers to Student Participation in School Meals When Meals Were Served Free of Charge During the 2021-2022 School Year. The Journal of School Health, 95(8), 575–586. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.70019

Research Question: What is the amount and type of food and beverage brand exposure young US children (aged 3 to 8 years) experience when viewing YouTube or YouTube Kids on mobile devices?

Key Finding: In this observational study, most children aged 6 to 8 years (75%) and 36% of children aged 3 to 5 years were exposed to branded food and beverages. The majority of brand exposures (61%) were embedded within videos, followed by thumbnails (23%) and ads (17%). Candy, sugar-sweetened drinks, fast food, and sweet or salty snacks represented 74% of exposures, and lifestyle videos (including influencers) contributed 77% of brand exposures within videos. No videos embedded with food or beverage brands disclosed food company-sponsored content.

Full Citation: Fleming-Milici, F., Gershman, H., Agresta, H. O., McCann, M., & Harris, J. L. (2025). Young Children’s (3-8y) food and beverage brand exposure on YouTube and YouTube kids: An observational study and content analysis. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2025.05.010

Messages promoting candy, sugar-sweetened drinks, fast food, and sweet or salty snacks brands frequently appear during videos viewed by 3- to -8-year-olds on YouTube and YouTube Kids, according to a new paper from researchers at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut. This is the first study to measure young children’s (3-8y) actual exposure to food brands while watching YouTube or YouTube Kids videos of their own choice on their own mobile devices. To mimic their typical video viewing habits, 101 children (3-8y) used their own mobile devices to watch videos on the YouTube platform of their choice (YouTube or YouTube Kids) for 30 minutes in their own homes.

School meals play an important role in supporting children’s nutrition. Despite substantial improvements in the nutritional quality of school meals following the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, concerns remain regarding the level of processing of the foods served in schools. This may be due to growing evidence of potential adverse outcomes associated with ultra-processed foods, which are industrial formulations designed to enhance the hyper-palatability and shelf life of foods. To better understand how frequently schools serve processed or minimally processed foods, a sample of 1,226 school food authorities (SFAs) across 8 states with and without state-level healthy school meals for all (HSMFA) policies were surveyed.

Full Citation: Cohen J, Chapman L, Gombi-Vaca M, Gosliner W, Hecht C, Hecht K, Schwartz M, Zuercher M, Ritchie L. Research Brief: Current State of Processed Foods in Schools. https://www.childnourishlab.org/healthy-school-meals-for-all

High-sugar breakfast cereal brands target their TV advertising directly to children under age 12, resulting in greater household purchases of these unhealthy children’s cereals, according to a new study from researchers at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut.

The study’s findings, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, revealed that advertising of high-sugar children’s cereals to children – but not to adults – leads to increased purchases of advertised children’s cereals in a large sample of households with children. These findings provide further evidence that the food industry’s promises to self-regulate child-directed food advertising will not have a meaningful impact on children’s diets until companies stop marketing unhealthy foods directly to children altogether.

Research is needed to demonstrate the impact of child-directed advertising on household purchases of nutrient-poor children’s foods to support mandatory government regulations. This study examines the relationship between total TV advertising to children versus adults and U.S. household purchases of high-sugar children’s cereals. Posthoc analyses examine potential differential marginal effects of advertising on households experiencing health disparities.

Advertising children’s cereals directly to children may increase household purchases and children’s consumption of these high-sugar products. Child-directed advertising may also disproportionately influence purchases by Black households. This study supports further restrictions on advertising of nutrient-poor foods directly to children.

Full Citation: Harris, J. L., Khanal, B., Fleming-Milici, F., & Andreyeva, T. (2025b). Children’s cereal purchases by U.S. households: Associations with Child Versus Adult TV ad exposure. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2024.11.022

Incorporating scratch-cooked, organic, and locally grown foods into school meal programs can enhance meal quality and support local food systems.

430 California school food authorities were surveyed to (1) evaluate their use of scratch-cooked, organic, and locally grown foods in their programs; (2) identify demographic and operational characteristics related to this use; and (3) analyze the relationship between serving more of these foods and perceived barriers to student meal participation. Poisson and logistic regression models, adjusted for SFAs’ demographic characteristics, were used.

Most respondents reported using scratch-cooked (82%) and locally grown foods (80%) in their school meals, with one-third serving organic foods (34%). Receiving grants to buy local produce and having a larger enrollment of White students were associated with more frequent use of these foods. More scratch cooking was associated with higher use of organic and locally grown foods and fewer perceptions of student nonparticipation due to concerns over meal healthfulness, taste, and freshness. More frequent use of organic and locally grown foods was also associated with fewer perceptions of student nonparticipation due to concerns about meal healthfulness.

Full Citation: Zuercher, M. D., Orta-Aleman, D., French, C. D., Cohen, J. F. W., Hecht, C. A., Hecht, K., Chapman, L. E., Read, M., Ohri-Vachaspati, P., Schwartz, M. B., Patel, A. I., Ritchie, L. D., & Gosliner, W. (2025). Factors and Outcomes Associated With Using Scratch-Cooked, Organic, and Locally Grown Foods in School Meals in California. The Journal of school health, 10.1111/josh.13533. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.13533

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) concluded that “caffeine and other stimulant substances contained in energy drinks have no place in the diet of children and adolescents.” Aggressive marketing drives consumption and sales among young people, and a growing body of literature supports the need for energy drink regulations to protect children and teens.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides meals to over 28 million students daily and is a powerful strategy to reduce childhood food insecurity and improve diet quality. The standard “means-tested” approach to pricing provides meals to low-income students at a reduced price or no cost. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, federal regulations were temporarily changed to allow districts to provide free school meals to all students (i.e., Universal Free School Meals, UFSM), regardless of income.

We collectively pay for public education because we believe that it is our responsibility to our youth – but it’s hard to focus in class when you are hungry. In addition to the health benefits of reducing food insecurity and improving diet quality, UFSM protects our investment in the public education of Connecticut’s children.

As youth mobile device use, including smartphones and tablets, has grown rapidly, even among very young children – time spent on mobile devices among 0-8 year olds increased by over 1000% from 2011-2020 – so has concern about potential negative health consequences. In addition to widespread concerns about impacts on young people’s mental health, social and emotional skill development, and sleep, mobile device use also allows for exposure to marketing of health-harming products, including foods and beverages that increase the risk of obesity and diet-related chronic diseases.

This study estimates how frequently young children, who are particularly vulnerable to advertising, view food and beverage marketing while using mobile devices.

Full Citation: Kenney, E. L., Mozaffarian, R. S., Norris, J., Fleming-Milici, F., & Bleich, S. N. (2024). Estimating young children’s exposure to food and beverage marketing on mobile devices. Current Developments in Nutrition, 104505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.104505