Communication and Marketing of School Meals

NCT05109351 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 62682
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 711
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Currently, millions of children in preschools, schools, and in afterschool continue to receive breakfast, lunch, snacks and supper through these programs. Thanks to federal nutrition standards and reimbursements, school meals are generally healthier than meals from home, particularly for students from low-income households. Participation in these programs, beginning in the earliest years, reduces food insecurity and improves child health and academic performance. Despite USDA administrative flexibilities issued during the COVID-19 pandemic, participation in school nutrition programs has decreased. This trial will examine whether an intervention that focuses on communicating the benefits of child nutrition programs and establishes a feasible and sustainable strategy for parents to provide ongoing feedback to improve the appeal, cultural relevance, and quality of school meals will increase school meal participation to reduce food insecurity and promote child health.

Conditions

Food Insecurity

Keywords

marketing; communication; schools; nutrition

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in school meal participation

  School meal participation data will be collected from participating school food service via directors via surveys. Data is also publicly available through California Department of Education Nutrition Services and will be obtained but this data is usually not available in real-time.

  Baseline and at 2-3 months follow-up

• Change in parents' satisfaction

  Surveys will be conducted to assess parents' satisfaction of school meals

  Baseline and at 2-3 months follow-up

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Change in household food insecurity

  Baseline and 2-3-months after the start of the study.

Study Arms (2)

Participating to Boost Meal Participation

EXPERIMENTAL

Intervention group will receive marketing and communication strategies developed by researchers, community organizations, parents, school nutrition directors, and other school stakeholders.

Behavioral: Participating to Boost Meal Participation

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Usual care.

Interventions

Participating to Boost Meal Participation BEHAVIORAL

The Participating to Boost Meal Participation intervention consists of utilizing marketing and communication strategies to promote school meal participation in elementary school students.

Participating to Boost Meal Participation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 55 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Elementary schools in California's San Joaquin Valley

You may not qualify if:

• Staff and parents who do not read or speak English or Spanish

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Stanford University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Stanford

Stanford, California, 94305-5119, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Communication

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

• Anisha Patel, MD, MSPH

  Stanford University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 27, 2021
• First Posted: November 5, 2021
• Study Start: January 13, 2022
• Primary Completion: August 21, 2024
• Study Completion: August 21, 2024
• Last Updated: December 20, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)