This report provides an overview of the organizational challenges and experiences of health-focused food banks nationwide during March – August of 2020. Interviews with 17 foods banks were conducted in August and September 2020. This report includes the themes from those interviews, and calls for policies, practices, and legislation that will enable decision makers across the country to join health-focused food banks in providing sustainable access to the healthy foods that help every community thrive, during pandemics and beyond.

The school environment plays an important role in children’s diets and overall health, and policies for universal free school meals have the potential to contribute to positive child health outcomes. This systematic review evaluates studies examining the association between universal free school meals and students’ school meal participation rates, diets, attendance, academic performance, and Body Mass Index (BMI), as well as school finances.

Full Citation: Cohen JFW, Hecht AA, McLoughlin GM, Turner L, Schwartz MB. Universal School Meals and Associations with Student Participation, Attendance, Academic Performance, Diet Quality, Food Security, and Body Mass Index: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2021;13(3):911. Published 2021 Mar 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13030911

Weight bias internalization (WBI) is an understudied form of internalized stigma, particularly among treatment- seeking adults with overweight/obesity. The current study surveyed 13,996 adults currently engaged in weight management in the first multinational study of WBI.

Full Citation: Pearl RL, Puhl RM, Lessard LM, Himmelstein MS, Foster GD. Prevalence and correlates of weight bias internalization in weight management: A multinational study. SSM Popul Health. 2021;13:100755. Published 2021 Feb 17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100755

Weight-based victimization (WBV) is a common and consequential experience for adolescents with overweight and obesity. The current study examined the relative contributions of different school-based sources of WBV (i.e., peers, friends, teachers, coaches) on academic grades, as well as the role of teachers in mitigating the academic consequences of WBV among a sample of 148 adolescents with high body weight.

Full Citation: Lessard LM, Lawrence SE, Puhl RM. Weight-based victimization and school performance in adolescence: Can teachers help reduce academic risks?. Sch Psychol. 2021;36(1):69-74. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000371

Weight-based bullying from peers has a negative impact on adolescents’ academic grades, according to a new study by researchers at the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. The study, published in School Psychology, also finds that the link between weight-based bullying and school performance is weaker when students perceive their teachers to be more helpful in preventing bullying in the future.

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 allows the provision of universal free meals (UFMs) in high-poverty school areas. Participation in UFM programs, including through CEP, could reduce meal costs due to economies of scale and a lower administrative burden. This study analyzed the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) data from 508 UFM-eligible schools (103 UFMs) to evaluate whether meal costs varied by UFM status.

Full Citation: Long MW, Marple K, Andreyeva T. Universal Free Meals Associated with Lower Meal Costs While Maintaining Nutritional Quality. Nutrients. 2021;13(2):670. Published 2021 Feb 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020670

Although bullied adolescents experience elevated risk for adverse mental and physical health outcomes, some youth exhibit resilience in the face of peer victimization. Given the developmental importance of peer relationships during adolescence, much of the research examining protective factors that can mitigate bullying-related harm has focused on the role of friendships. The goals of the current systematic review were to (a) synthesize the evidence for the protective effect of friendships (quantity and quality) on the mental and physical health of peer victimized adolescents and (b) provide corresponding recommendations for school-based health practitioners to facilitate appropriate supports among socially vulnerable youth in educational settings.

Full citation: Schacter HL, Lessard LM, Kiperman S, Bakth F, Ehrhardt A, Uganski J. Can Friendships Protect Against the Health Consequences of Peer Victimization in Adolescence? A Systematic Review. School Mental Health. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-021-09417-x

Calorie labeling is now required on all large U.S. chain restaurant menus, but its influence on consumer behavior is mixed. This study examines whether different parent-targeted messages encourage parents to order lower-calorie meals for their children in a hypothetical online setting.

Full Citation: Musicus AA, Hua SV, Schwartz MB, et al. Messages Promoting Healthy Kids’ Meals: An Online RCT. Am J Prev Med. 2021;60(5):674-683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2020.11.012

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) contribute to childhood obesity, long-term risks for diet-related diseases, and health disparities affecting communities of color. Hispanic children are disproportionately affected by obesity, but research is needed to better understand culturally specific reasons for providing SSBs to Hispanic children. This exploratory study utilized the Social Ecological Model framework to evaluate Hispanic parents’ perceptions of SSBs and serving them to young children.

Full Citation: Beckman M, Harris J. Understanding individual and socio-cultural factors associated with hispanic parents’ provision of sugar-sweetened beverages to young children. Appetite. 2021;161:105139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105139

Dr. Marlene Schwartz joins Julie Relevant in this episode about the impact of COVID-19 on health inequities, rates of food insecurity, and childhood obesity. They also tackle the current state of school lunch and proposed waivers, food marketing and social media influencers and what we can do to affect change.