Table 4.
Frequency of challenges with regard to school meals experienced in the SY 2021–22, using select SFA characteristics noted by the Californian school food authorities (n = 581) 1.
| Challenge 2 | FRPM Eligibility 3 | Urbanicity 4 | Size 5 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ≤40% (n = 145) |
>40% (n = 215) |
p-Value | Urban (n = 254) |
Non-Urban (n = 106) |
p-Value | Large (n = 180) |
Medium (n = 106) |
Small (n = 174) |
p-Value | |
| % | % | % | ||||||||
| Procuring or receiving the types of foods or beverages planned | 87.0 | 89.9 | 0.36 | 89.9 | 88.3 | 0.55 | 97.3 | 96.2 | 82.4 | 0.0001 a,b |
| Procuring or receiving the quantities of foods or beverages planned | 82.3 | 87.3 | 0.15 | 85.1 | 87.0 | 0.51 | 97.4 | 95.6 | 76.4 | 0.0001 a,b |
| Procuring or receiving non-food supplies or equipment needed for school meals | 78.3 | 84.1 | 0.13 | 80.1 | 85.7 | 0.08 | 98.2 | 92.3 | 71.8 | 0.0001 a,b |
| Costs/financial sustainability of school meal programs | 84.3 | 80.5 | 0.30 | 82.6 | 80.4 | 0.54 | 88.5 | 86.1 | 76.8 | 0.003 a,b |
| Adequacy of school nutrition services staffing | 76.3 | 72.2 | 0.35 | 73.8 | 72.8 | 0.79 | 89.6 | 83.3 | 62.5 | 0.0001 a,b |
| Meal service modifications or disruptions | 59.5 | 65.2 | 0.22 | 64.9 | 61.0 | 0.39 | 71.3 | 69.6 | 57.5 | 0.003 a,b |
| Meeting federal meal pattern requirements | 55.8 | 56.6 | 0.87 | 58.0 | 53.2 | 0.31 | 72.1 | 59.4 | 49.0 | 0.01 b |
1 Sample size varies for some questions due to missing survey responses. 2 Frequencies representing SFAs that identified the challenges as moderate or significant; other answer options were: “minimum challenge” and “not a challenge”. 3 Free and reduced-price meal (FRPM) eligibility was defined in terms of SFAs with 40% or fewer FRPM students vs. SFAs with more than 40% FRPM students in the SY 2021–22. Models for FRPM eligibility were adjusted by CEP status. Adjusted percentages and p-values were reported. 4 Urbanicity was defined using the USDA rural–urban commuting area (RUCA) codes as urban areas = RUCA primary code 1 and non-urban areas = RUCA primary codes 2–10. Models for urbanicity were adjusted by CEP status and size. Adjusted percentages and p-values were reported. 5 SFA size was defined as small = 2499 or fewer students, medium = 2500 to 9999 students, and large = 10,000 or more students. Models for the sizes represented were adjusted by CEP status and p-values represent the overall effect of size. Adjusted percentages and p-values were reported. The statistical significance for pairwise comparisons is indicated as follows: a differences between medium and small; b differences between large and small; no significant differences were observed between medium and large.