Learning Outcome
Describe the food security status for children receiving virtual schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic increased food insecurity in the United States. Many schools pivoted to virtual modalities, limiting children’s access to services such as the National School Lunch program. The objective of this analysis was to evaluate food security and school meals access in households with school-age children receiving virtual classes during the pandemic.
Methods
Families (n=74) in Miami-Dade County completed a survey including questions regarding virtual schooling, school meals access, and food insecurity status in Fall 2020. Families were predominantly Hispanic (78.4%) and bilingual (64.9%) with children 5-10 years old. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were conducted using SPSS V26.0. Results were considered significant at p< 0.05.
Results
Out of 74 respondents, 64 students (86.5%) resumed classes online during Spring 2020. From the students receiving virtual classes, 43.8% did not receive meals from school and 26.5% identified as being food insecure. There was a statistically significant difference between food security status (food insecure vs food secure) and children receiving meals from school during virtual classes, X 2(1, n=62) = 6.966, p=0.008, with more children with food insecurity not having access to school meals.
Conclusion
These results demonstrate that virtual classes during the pandemic impacted school meal access, which may be more detrimental to families that were already food insecure. Despite measures to distribute school meals during school closures, vulnerable populations may have been missed. Further research is needed to evaluate food insecurity throughout the pandemic for households with school age children and the impact on their nutrition and health outcomes.
Funding source
This project was supported by the FIU Center for Research on U.S. Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse Supplemental Pilot Program and National Institute of Health Grant #R01DK119814.