Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Department of International Health Human Nutrition Program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Nutrients. 2023 Mar 27;15(7):1628. doi: 10.3390/nu15071628.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) was allowed to operate in untraditional non-summer months to ensure children did not lose access to free and reduced-priced nutritious meals when schools were mandated to close in the United States. This study assessed the impact of the pandemic on the operations and experiences of Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sponsors in the state of Maryland during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 (Phase I) and 2021 (Phase II). This study used a multiphase explanatory sequential mixed methods design with qualitative prioritization. Maryland SFSP sponsors completed an online survey (Phase I: n = 27, Phase II: n = 30), and semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with a subset of sponsors who completed the survey (Phase I: n = 12, Phase II: n = 7). Inductive and deductive analyses were used for qualitative data, and descriptive statistics were used for quantitative data. The COVID-19 pandemic caused SFSP sponsors to change their operations. Sponsors were primarily concerned about staff safety/burnout and decreased participation. Sponsors perceived waivers implemented by the United States Department of Agriculture to be crucial in enabling them to serve meals to children during the pandemic. The findings from our study support advocacy efforts to permanently implement waivers and provide free school meals for all children.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，为确保美国学校关闭期间儿童不会无法获得免费和降价的营养膳食，允许夏季食品服务计划（SFSP）在非传统的夏季以外的月份运营。本研究评估了 2020 年（第一阶段）和 2021 年（第二阶段） COVID-19 大流行期间马里兰州夏季食品服务计划（SFSP）赞助商运营和经验所受到的影响。本研究使用了具有定性优先排序的多阶段解释性顺序混合方法设计。马里兰州 SFSP 赞助商完成了在线调查（第一阶段：n = 27，第二阶段：n = 30），并对完成调查的赞助商进行了半结构化深入访谈（第一阶段：n = 12，第二阶段：n = 7）。定性数据采用归纳和演绎分析，定量数据采用描述性统计。COVID-19 大流行导致 SFSP 赞助商改变了运营方式。赞助商主要担心员工安全/倦怠和参与度下降。赞助商认为美国农业部实施的豁免权对于在大流行期间为儿童提供膳食至关重要。我们研究的结果支持为所有儿童永久实施豁免权和提供免费学校膳食的宣传工作。
