[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-584055-105":59,"doc-detail-584055-en":129},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":122,"head_meta":124,"extra_data":126,"updated_unix":128},105,"en","universal-school-meals-policy-brief-september-2023","UNIVERSAL SCHOOL MEALS - POLICY BRIEF - September 2023","","Universal School Meals policy brief argues that adequate nutrition is essential for children’s well-being and development, highlighting that 1.54 million U.S. students cannot afford school meals under current free or reduced-price eligibility rules. It explains how food insecurity harms physical and mental health, academic performance, and psychosocial functioning, and describes stigma and debt-related barriers. The brief presents universal meal models, including the Community Eligibility Provision, as improving diet quality, attendance, learning capacity, and reducing administrative burdens.",{"@graph":69,"@context":121},[70,84,104],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/universal-school-meals-policy-brief-september-2023/584055/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":98,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":99,"interactionStatistic":100},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/universal-school-meals-policy-brief-september-2023/584055.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"\tCallum ","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":101,"interactionType":102,"userInteractionCount":8},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":103},"ViewAction",{"@type":105,"mainEntity":106},"FAQPage",[107,113,117],{"name":108,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":110},"Why does the brief criticize the current USDA school meal eligibility system?","Question",{"text":111,"@type":112},"It states that qualifications under free or reduced-price rules do not match the needs of struggling families, creating barriers for households that earn too much to qualify and for students who must navigate bureaucratic applications and disclosure requirements.","Answer",{"name":114,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":115},"What health and academic impacts does food insecurity cause, according to the brief?",{"text":116,"@type":112},"The brief explains that food insecurity leads to poor nutrition and is associated with poorer physical and mental health, lower school performance, and diminished psychosocial functioning, while healthier, consistent meals support brain capacity and learning.",{"name":118,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":119},"How do universal meals change outcomes compared with the current system?",{"text":120,"@type":112},"The brief claims universal meals improve diet quality for students, reduce consumption of junk food, increase participation rates in high-poverty settings through models like the Community Eligibility Provision, and help address attendance by decreasing illness.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":123,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":125,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":127,"site_id":62},584055,1792080241,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":130},{"doc_id":127,"user_id":131,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":132,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":133,"file_id":134,"file_url":135,"file_type":136,"file_size":137,"view_count":8,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":29,"language":138,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":139,"faqs":140,"seo_title":141,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":142,"read_time":143},137451211410,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/2000bb0a9246f588df?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786362646172706240","UNIVERSAL SCHOOL MEALS  \nPOLICY BRIEF  \nBoth inside and outside the classroom, adequate nutrition is essential for a child’s well-being and development. However, an estimated 1.54 million U.S. students cannot afford the meals offered at school.1 While many of these students rely on the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) free or reduced-price meal options, others may go hungry to the detriment of their academic success and health. Children deserve nutritious, healthy, and filling meals, no matter their family’s income. Healthy, free school meals for all would give every child a chance to flourish.  \nOUR CURRENT SYSTEM LEAVES KIDS HUNGRY  \nThe USDA’s current free or reduced-price meal program qualifications do not meet the needs of struggling families. Under the current regulations, a single parent with two children making $43,000 annually makes too much to qualify for even a reduced-price lunch. With food prices soaring by 11% in 2022 and costs of living on the rise, families are struggling to make ends meet.2 Families who do qualify must navigate bureaucratic application processes and share personal information with the school in order to receive reduced-price or free lunches.  \nThose who cannot pay add to the already $262 million of unpaid school lunch debt.3 Children from these households face stigma that leads to bullying both by peers and by the schools, who may discard already served lunches to in-debt students, mark them with stickers, or force them to complete chores. Such conditions may have acute psychological impacts on our children.  \nUNIVERSAL MEALS MEAN HEALTHY KIDS  \nFood insecurity—which leads to poor nutrition —directly influences health and well-being throughout a child’s life. For some food-insecure students, school lunches may be the only meal they receive that day. Food insecurity is specifically associated with poorer physical and mental health, lower school performance, and diminished psychosocial functioning.4 Families primarily suffer from food insecurity because they lack the resources to access and purchase healthy, adequate food. Food insecure families must often face impossible decisions between keeping food on the table, purchasing medication, or paying utility bills.  \nThe lifelong health implications of a consistently nutritious diet during childhood cannot be overstated. Science shows that children's nutrition is directly linked to healthy development and that a nutritious diet reduces a child’s risk of obesity, diabetes, and developing chronic conditions such as heart disease, tooth decay, high blood pressure, and cancer later in life.5 During these critical childhood years children develop lifelong food preferences. Meals provided by schools, which are often healthier than meals that low-income children receive at home, help children create good eating habits that will carry through to adulthood. In light of the USDA’s recent  \nFIRST FOCUS CAMPAIGN FOR CHILDREN | UNIVERSAL SCHOOL MEALS POLICY BRIEF | SEPTEMBER 2023 1  \nUNIVERSAL SCHOOL MEALS  \nPOLICY BRIEF  \nupdates to school meal standards, school-provided meals will contain less sodium and sugar than in the past and more whole grains. These changes will promote better brain health, improve students’ capacity for learning, decrease the risk of early-onset heart disease, and keep kids feeling fuller for longer.6 Under our current system, however, these healthier meals are available only to students who can afford them.  \nStudies show that students from low-income households who rely on free school meals for breakfast and lunch have a significantly healthier diet than those who do not.7 Students who are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches but instead bring meals and snacks from home consume significantly more saturated fat and sugar and significantly less fruit than their National School Lunch Program-participating counterparts.8 In schools that offer universal meals via the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)—whic","cbCaifxLrCAeuXWo","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifxLrCAeuXWo","pdf",307305,"English","# Our Current System Leaves Kids Hungry\n# Universal Meals Mean Healthy Kids\n# Benefits Beyond the Cafeteria","[{\"question\":\"Why does the brief criticize the current USDA school meal eligibility system?\",\"answer\":\"It states that qualifications under free or reduced-price rules do not match the needs of struggling families, creating barriers for households that earn too much to qualify and for students who must navigate bureaucratic applications and disclosure requirements.\"},{\"question\":\"What health and academic impacts does food insecurity cause, according to the brief?\",\"answer\":\"The brief explains that food insecurity leads to poor nutrition and is associated with poorer physical and mental health, lower school performance, and diminished psychosocial functioning, while healthier, consistent meals support brain capacity and learning.\"},{\"question\":\"How do universal meals change outcomes compared with the current system?\",\"answer\":\"The brief claims universal meals improve diet quality for students, reduce consumption of junk food, increase participation rates in high-poverty settings through models like the Community Eligibility Provision, and help address attendance by decreasing illness.\"}]","UNIVERSAL SCHOOL MEALS - POLICY BRIEF - September 2023 | PDF",1792049637,15]