Let Them Eat Lunch: The Impact of Universal Free Meals on Student Performance
Open accessAbstract
This paper investigates the impact of extending free school lunch to all students, regardless of income, on academic performance in New York City middle schools. Using a difference‐in‐differences design and unique longitudinal, student‐level data, we derive credibly causal estimates of the impacts of “Universal Free Meals” (UFM) on test scores in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics, and participation in school lunch. We find UFM increases academic performance by as much as 0.083 standard deviations in math and 0.059 in ELA for non‐poor students, with smaller, statistically significant effects of 0.032 and 0.027 standard deviations in math and ELA for poor students. Further, UFM increases participation in school lunch by roughly 11.0 percentage points for non‐poor students and 5.4 percentage points for poor students. We then investigate the academic effects of school lunch participation per se , using UFM as an instrumental variable. Results indicate that increases in school lunch participation improve academic performance for both poor and non‐poor students; an additional lunch every two weeks increases test scores by roughly 0.08 standard deviations in math and 0.07 standard deviations in ELA. Finally, we explore potential unintended consequences for student weight outcomes, finding no evidence that UFM increases the probability that students are obese or overweight. We also find no evidence of increases in average body mass index (BMI). Instead, we find some evidence that participation in school lunch improves weight outcomes for non‐poor students. Results are robust to an array of alternative specifications and assumptions about the sample.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Food insecurity is associated with low educational performance.
“Studies show that food insecurity is associated with low educational performance, while school lunch is associated with high educational attainment [57, 58].”
From Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 among Children and College Students: A Systematic Review (2023) · cites this paper as [57]
School lunch is associated with high educational attainment.
“Studies show that food insecurity is associated with low educational performance, while school lunch is associated with high educational attainment [57, 58].”
From Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 among Children and College Students: A Systematic Review (2023) · cites this paper as [57]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
A Practitioner’s Guide to Cluster-Robust Inference
Colin Cameron, A., & Miller, D. L. (2015) · Journal of Human Resources · doi:10.3368/jhr.50.2.317 · Cited by 5,037 · see citing works
Empirical Benchmarks for Interpreting Effect Sizes in Research
Hill, C. J., Bloom, H. S., Black, A. R., & Lipsey, M. W. (2008) · Child Development Perspectives · doi:10.1111/j.1750-8606.2008.00061.x · Cited by 950 · see citing works
The impact of the National School Lunch Program on child health: A nonparametric bounds analysis
Gundersen, C., Kreider, B., & Pepper, J. V. (2011) · Journal of Econometrics · doi:10.1016/j.jeconom.2011.06.007 · Cited by 273 · see citing works
Do School Lunches Contribute to Childhood Obesity?
Schanzenbach, D. W. (2009) · The Journal of Human Resources · doi:10.1353/jhr.2009.0021 · Cited by 228 · see citing works
Food for thought: the effects of school accountability plans on school nutrition
Figlio, D., & Winicki, J. (2004) · Journal of Public Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2003.10.007 · Cited by 224 · see citing works
Bhattacharya, J., Currie, J., & Haider, S. J. (2006) · The Journal of Human Resources · doi:10.3368/jhr.xli.3.445 · Cited by 199 · see citing works
Nutrition and cognitive achievement: An evaluation of the School Breakfast Program
Frisvold, D. (2014) · Journal of Public Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.12.003 · Cited by 191 · see citing works
Leos‐Urbel, J., Schwartz, A. E., WEINSTEIN, M. G., & Corcoran, S. P. (2013) · Economics of Education Review · doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2013.06.007 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Self-citationThe effects of the National School Lunch Program on education and health
Hinrichs, P. L. (2010) · Journal of Policy Analysis and Management · doi:10.1002/pam.20506 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Participation in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program
Gleason, P. (1995) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/61.1.213s · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Mirtcheva, D. M., & Powell, L. M. (2009) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2009.00438.x · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Michelmore, K. M., & Dynarski, S. (2017) · AERA Open · doi:10.1177/2332858417692958 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
The impact of Chile's school feeding program on education outcomes
McEwan, P. J. (2012) · Economics of Education Review · doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.08.006 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
The Effect of Providing Breakfast in Class on Student Performance
Imberman, S. A., & Kugler, A. D. (2014) · Journal of Policy Analysis and Management · doi:10.1002/pam.21759 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
School Nutrition Programs and the Incidence of Childhood Obesity
Millimet, D. L., Tchernis, R., & Husain, M. (2010) · The Journal of Human Resources · doi:10.1353/jhr.2010.0021 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Corcoran, S. P., Elbel, B. D., & Schwartz, A. E. (2016) · Journal of Policy Analysis and Management · doi:10.1002/pam.21909 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Self-citationPoppendieck, J. (2019) · University of California Press eBooks · doi:10.1525/9780520944411 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Do School Food Programs Improve Child Dietary Quality?
Smith, T. A. (2016) · American Journal of Agricultural Economics · doi:10.1093/ajae/aaw091 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
School Lunch Quality and Academic Performance
Anderson, M., Gallagher, J. F., & Ritchie, E. R. (2017) · National Bureau of Economic Research · doi:10.3386/w23218 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
A Menu for Health: Changes to New York City School Food, 2001 to 2011*
Perlman, S. E., Nonas, C., Lindstrom, L. L., Choe‐Castillo, J., McKie, H., & Alberti, P. M. (2012) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2012.00726.x · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Participation in the School Breakfast Program: New Evidence from the ECLS-K
Bartfeld, J., & Kim, M. (2010) · Social Service Review · doi:10.1086/657109 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
The Demand for School Lunches: An Analysis of Individual Participation in the School Lunch Program
Akin, J. S., Guilkey, D. K., Popkin, B. M., & Wyckoff, J. (1983) · The Journal of Human Resources · doi:10.2307/145483 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Michelmore, K. M., & Dynarski, S. (2016) · National Bureau of Economic Research · doi:10.3386/w22474 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Evaluation of the Free School Meals Pilot: Impact Report
Dearden, L., Crawford, C., Greaves, E., Brown, V., Kitchen, S., Payne, C., Purdon, S., & Tanner, E. K. (2012) · doi:10.1920/re.ifs.2024.0669 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Magic Breakfast: Evaluation report and executive summary
Crawford, C., Edwards, A., Farquharson, C., Greaves, E., Trevelyan, G., Wallace, E. D., & White, C. (2016) · Digital Education Resource Archive (University College London) · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Bloom, H., Hill, C., Black, A. R., & Lipsey, M. (2006). Effect sizes in education research: What they are, what they mean, and why they're important. Institute of Education Sciences, 2006 Research Conference. Washington, DC.
- Bogden, J. F., Brizius, M., & Walker, E. M. (2012). Chapter E. Policies to Promote Healthy Eating in National Association of State Boards of Education. Fit, Healthy, and Ready to Learn (Chapter E). Arlington, VA: National Association of State Boards of Education.
- Ryan, P. (2014, March 6). On Principles & Values. Speech presented at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Washington, DC.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
COVID-19, school closures, and child poverty: a social crisis in the making
Lancker, W. V., & Parolin, Z. (2020) · The Lancet Public Health · doi:10.1016/s2468-2667(20)30084-0 · Cited by 1,433 · see citing works
Impact of COVID -19 on children: special focus on the psychosocial aspect
Ghosh, R., Dubey, M. J., Chatterjee, S., & Dubey, S. (2020) · Minerva Pediatrics · doi:10.23736/s0026-4946.20.05887-9 · Cited by 603 · see citing works
Cohen, J. F. W., Hecht, A. A., McLoughlin, G. M., Turner, L., & Schwartz, M. B. (2021) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu13030911 · Cited by 379 · see citing works
Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 among Children and College Students: A Systematic Review
Elharake, J. A., Akbar, F., Malik, A. A., Gilliam, W., & Omer, S. B. (2023) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-021-01297-1 · Cited by 279 · see citing works
Equity and Inclusion in Education
OECD (2023) · OECD eBooks · doi:10.1787/e9072e21-en · Cited by 268 · see citing works
Free Lunch for All! The Effect of the Community Eligibility Provision on Academic Outcomes
Gordanier, J. M., Ozturk, O. D., Williams, B. J., & Zhan, C. (2019) · Economics of Education Review · doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2020.101999 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Wakui, N., Shin'ichiro, A., Shirozu, S., Yamamoto, Y., Yamamura, M., Abe, Y., Murata, S., Ozawa, M., Igarashi, T., Yanagiya, T., et al. (2021) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-021-11130-y · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Zviedrite, N., Hodis, J. D., Jahan, F., Gao, H., & Uzicanin, A. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0248925 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Feely, M., Raissian, K. M., Schneider, W., & Bullinger, L. R. (2020) · The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science · doi:10.1177/0002716220973566 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Municipal foodscapes: Urban food policy and the new municipalism
Morley, A., & Morgan, K. (2021) · Food Policy · doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102069 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Marcus, M., & Yewell, K. G. (2022) · Journal of Health Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2022.102646 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Schoolwide Free Meals and Student Discipline: Effects of the Community Eligibility Provision
Gordon, N., & Ruffini, K. (2019) · Education Finance and Policy · doi:10.1162/edfp_a_00307 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Going universal. The impact of free school lunches on child body weight outcomes
Holford, A., & Rabe, B. (2022) · Journal of Public Economics Plus · doi:10.1016/j.pubecp.2022.100016 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Are Children of Welfare Recipients at a Heightened Risk of Bullying and Peer Victimization?
Hong, J. S., Choi, J., Espelage, D. L., Wu, C., Boraggina-Ballard, L., & Fisher, B. W. (2020) · Child & Youth Care Forum · doi:10.1007/s10566-020-09587-w · Cited by 36 · see citing works
SNAP participation and the health and health care utilisation of low-income adults and children
Miller, D. P., & Morrissey, T. W. (2021) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s1368980021003815 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Beyond Teachers: Estimating Individual School Counselors’ Effects on Educational Attainment
Mulhern, C. (2023) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/aer.20200847 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Martin, E. G., & Sorensen, L. C. (2020) · JAMA Health Forum · doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2020.0724 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Universal School Meals in the US: What Can We Learn from the Community Eligibility Provision?
Andreyeva, T., & Sun, X. (2021) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu13082634 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Jowell, A. H., Bruce, J. S., Escobar, G. V., Ordonez, V. M., Hecht, C., & Patel, A. I. (2021) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s1368980021003141 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Universal Free School Meals Policy and Childhood Obesity
Localio, A. M., Knox, M. A., Basu, A., Lindman, T., Walkinshaw, L. P., & Jones‐Smith, J. C. (2024) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2023-063749 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Rothbart, M. W., Schwartz, A. E., & Gutierrez, E. (2022) · Education Finance and Policy · doi:10.1162/edfp_a_00380 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Self-citationIs four less than five? Effects of four-day school weeks on student achievement in Oregon
Thompson, P. N. (2020) · Journal of Public Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104308 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Kenney, E. L., Dunn, C. G., Mozaffarian, R. S., Dai, J., Wilson, K., West, J., Shen, Y., Fleischhacker, S. E., & Bleich, S. N. (2021) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu13082691 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
The Impact of Summer Programs on Student Mathematics Achievement: A Meta-Analysis
Lynch, K., An, L., & Mancenido, Z. (2022) · Review of Educational Research · doi:10.3102/00346543221105543 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Thompson, P. N., Gunter, K. B., Schuna, J. M., & Tomayko, E. J. (2020) · Education Finance and Policy · doi:10.1162/edfp_a_00316 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Kirksey, J. J., & Gottfried, M. A. (2021) · Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis · doi:10.3102/0162373721991572 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Mumtaz, M., Hussain, N., Baqar, Z., Anwar, S., & Bilal, M. (2021) · Environmental Science and Pollution Research · doi:10.1007/s11356-021-15728-y · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Michela, E., Rosenberg, J. M., Kimmons, R. M., Sultana, O., Burchfield, M. A., & Thomas, T. (2022) · AERA Open · doi:10.1177/23328584221078542 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Cedillo, Y. E., Kelly, T., Davis, E., Durham, L., Smith, D. L., Kennedy, R., & Fernández, J. R. (2023) · Public Health · doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2023.08.015 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
School Nutrition and Student Discipline: Effects of Schoolwide Free Meals
Gordon, N., & Ruffini, K. (2018) · National Bureau of Economic Research · doi:10.3386/w24986 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
The impact of pork‐barrel capital funding in schools: Evidence from participatory budgeting in NYC
Rothbart, M. W., Schwegman, D., & Shybalkina, I. (2021) · Public Budgeting & Finance · doi:10.1111/pbaf.12307 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Self-citationBethmann, D., & Cho, J. I. (2022) · SSM - Population Health · doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101072 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Bi-objective evolutionary Bayesian network structure learning via skeleton constraint
Wu, T., Qian, H., Liu, Z., Zhou, J., & Zhou, A. (2023) · Frontiers of Computer Science · doi:10.1007/s11704-023-2740-6 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
There Is Such a Thing as a Free Lunch: School Meals, Stigma, and Student Discipline
Domina, T., Clark, L. R., Radsky, V., & Bhaskar, R. (2024) · American Educational Research Journal · doi:10.3102/00028312231222266 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Universal Free Meals Associated with Lower Meal Costs While Maintaining Nutritional Quality
Long, M. W., Marple, K., & Andreyeva, T. (2021) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu13020670 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
School Food Policy Affects Everyone: Retail Responses to the National School Lunch Program
Handbury, J., & Moshary, S. (2021) · National Bureau of Economic Research · doi:10.3386/w29384 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Overcoming Discount Window Stigma: An Experimental Investigation
Armantier, O., & Holt, C. A. (2020) · Review of Financial Studies · doi:10.1093/rfs/hhaa055 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Barbosa, A. L. D. A., dos Anjos, A. B. L., & Azoni, C. A. S. (2022) · CoDAS · doi:10.1590/2317-1782/20212020373 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Fazlul, I., Koedel, C., & Parsons, E. (2023) · Economics of Education Review · doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2023.102374 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Stop the shame and the hunger: The need for school meal program reform
Gagliano, K. M., Yassa, M. O., & Winsler, A. (2023) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.107245 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Hungry for Success? SNAP Timing, High-Stakes Exam Performance, and College Attendance
Bond, T. N., Carr, J. B., Packham, A., & Smith, J. (2021) · National Bureau of Economic Research · doi:10.3386/w28386 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Siachpazidou, D. S., Kotsiou, O. S., Chatziparasidis, G., Papagiannis, D., Vavougios, G. D., Gogou, E., Stavrou, V. T., & Gourgoulianis, K. I. (2021) · Journal of Personalized Medicine · doi:10.3390/jpm11060451 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
The effect of universal free school meals on children’s food hardship
Toossi, S. (2024) · Food Policy · doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102606 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Jahan, F. A., Zviedrite, N., Gao, H., Ahmed, F., & Uzicanin, A. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0272088 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
School Meal Nutrition Standards Reduce Disparities Across Income and Race/Ethnicity
Smith, T. A., Lin, B., & Guthrie, J. F. (2024) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2024.03.012 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Davis, W., & Musaddiq, T. (2018) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3155354 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Hartline‐Grafton, H., & Levin, M. (2022) · Current Nutrition Reports · doi:10.1007/s13668-022-00434-z · Cited by 14 · see citing works
The Campaign for Universal Free Lunch in New York City: Lessons Learned
Watts, A., Araiza, A., Fernández, C. R., Rosenthal, L., Vargas-Rodriguez, I., Duroseau, N. H., Accles, L., & Rieder, J. (2021) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2020-049734 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Hungry for Success? SNAP Timing, High-Stakes Exam Performance, and College Attendance
Bond, T. N., Carr, J. B., Packham, A., & Smith, J. (2022) · American Economic Journal Economic Policy · doi:10.1257/pol.20210026 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Boronowsky, R., Yang, K. L., Natanson, L., Presley, K., Reddy, Y., Shenkiryk, A., Wang, M. C., Slusser, W. M., Koch, P. A., Cleveland, D. A., et al. (2025) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su17072955 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Universal Free School Meal Policies and Participation in the US National School Meal Programs
Ramponi, F., Zhou, H. X., Gosliner, W. A., Ohri‐Vachaspati, P., Orta‐Aleman, D., Ritchie, L. D., Schwartz, M. B., Turner, L. R., Verguet, S., & Cohen, J. F. W. (2025) · Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine · doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2301 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
The Effect of Universal Free School Meals on Child BMI
Davis, W., Kreisman, D., & Musaddiq, T. (2023) · Education Finance and Policy · doi:10.1162/edfp_a_00409 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Prescott, M. P., Gilbride, J. A., Corcoran, S. P., Elbel, B. D., Woolf, K., Ofori, R. O., & Schwartz, A. E. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19159649 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Self-citationHealth Policies as Education Policies? A Review of Causal Evidence and Mechanisms
Gopalan, M., & Edara, R. (2023) · AERA Open · doi:10.1177/23328584231177616 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Using DNA to Predict Education: a Meta-analytic Review
Wilding, K., Wright, M., & von Stumm, S. (2024) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-024-09928-4 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Canbolat, Y., Rutkowski, D., & Rutkowski, L. A. (2023) · Large-scale Assessments in Education · doi:10.1186/s40536-023-00161-z · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Using Social Media to Promote School Nutrition Programs During the COVID ‐19 Pandemic
Whitesell, A. M., & Fitch, H. (2022) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/josh.13151 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Marcus, M., & Yewell, K. G. (2021) · National Bureau of Economic Research · doi:10.3386/w29395 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
The policy menu for school lunches: options and trade-offs in expanding free school meals in England
Cribb, J., Farquharson, C., McKendrick, A., & Waters, T. (2023) · doi:10.1920/re.ifs.2023.0253 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Kirksey, J. J., & Elefante, J. (2022) · Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR) · doi:10.1080/10824669.2022.2102982 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Orta‐Aleman, D., Zuercher, M. D., Hecht, C., Hecht, K., Poudel, I., Olarte, D. A., Patel, A. I., Polacsek, M., Ritchie, L. D., Cohen, J. F. W., et al. (2024) · Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · doi:10.1016/j.jand.2024.11.002 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
South African COVID-19 school closures: Impact on children and families
Haffejee, S., Simelane, T., & Mwanda, A. (2024) · South African Journal of Childhood Education · doi:10.4102/sajce.v14i1.1415 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Does School Lunch Fill the “SNAP Gap” at the End of the Month?
Laurito, A., & Schwartz, A. E. (2019) · Southern Economic Journal · doi:10.1002/soej.12370 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Self-citationImpact of the community eligibility provision program on school meal participation in Texas
Schneider, K., Oslund, J., & Liu, T. (2021) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s1368980021003712 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Franco, M., Vidal, I., Díez, J., Ochoa, A., & Cohen, N. (2025) · Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health · doi:10.1136/jech-2023-220576 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Free School Meals Policy: Lessons Learned from Around the World for Indonesia
Rassanjani, S., & Rahmi, I. (2025) · JURNAL ILMU SOSIAL · doi:10.14710/jis.24.1.2025.1-28 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Does the provision of universal free school meals improve school attendance?
Borbély, D., Gehrsitz, M., McIntyre, S., & Rossi, G. (2024) · Economics of Education Review · doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2024.102597 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Universal free school meals and children’s bodyweight. Impacts by age and duration of exposure
Holford, A., & Rabe, B. (2024) · Journal of Health Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2024.102937 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Calvert, H. G., Lane, H., McQuilkin, M., Wenner, J. A., & Turner, L. R. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19010279 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Bennett, B. L., Cohen, J. F. W., Andreyeva, T., Esposito, J., Burkholder, K., Chafouleas, S. M., & Schwartz, M. B. (2023) · AJPM Focus · doi:10.1016/j.focus.2023.100124 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Quetsch, L. B., Jackson, C. B., Onovbiona, H., & Bradley, R. (2022) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106437 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Renick, J., & Reich, S. M. (2023) · Journal of Adolescent Research · doi:10.1177/07435584231215448 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Weekend feeding (“BackPack”) programs and student outcomes
Kurtz, M. D., Conway, K. S., & Mohr, R. D. (2020) · Economics of Education Review · doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2020.102040 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
COVID-19 Driven Adaptations in the Provision of School Meals in the Baltic Sea Region
Ala-Karvia, U., Góralska-Walczak, R., Piirsalu, E., Filippova, E., Kazimierczak, R., Post, A., Monakhov, V., & Mikkola, M. (2022) · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · doi:10.3389/fsufs.2021.750598 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Nair, N., Ng, C. G., & Sulaiman, A. H. (2021) · Asian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2021.102548 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Free School Meals and Demand for Community Food ResourcesPreprint
Ozturk, O. D., Pekgün, P., & Ruffini, K. (2021) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3899868 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Hong, J. S., Choi, M. J., Gómez, A., Padilla, Y. C., & Espelage, D. L. (2024) · Behavioral Sciences & the Law · doi:10.1002/bsl.2663 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Hairol, M. I., Ahmad, M., Zihni, M. A. M., Saidon, N. F. S., Nordin, N., & Kadar, M. (2023) · Children · doi:10.3390/children10060930 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Inequality in literacy skills at kindergarten entry at the intersections of social programs and race
Rothbart, M. W., & Heflin, C. M. (2023) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.106812 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Self-citationThe Impact of School Choice on Public School Budgets: Evidence From Open Enrollment in New York City
Rothbart, M. W. (2020) · Public Budgeting & Finance · doi:10.1111/pbaf.12267 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Self-citationHawkins, M., Clermont, M., Wells, D., Alston, M., McClave, R., & Snelling, A. M. (2022) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu14153028 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Scaled-Up Nutrition Services for Child Development
Carlos, J. (2022) · American Journal of Health Economics · doi:10.1086/723824 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Play as a Stress-Coping Method Among Children in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review
Raudenská, J., Gumančík, J., Raudenský, M., Pasqualucci, A., Tamayo, M. A. N., Varrassi, G., & Javůrková, A. (2023) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.43550 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Impact of the Community Eligibility Provision Program on School Meal Participation in TexasPreprint
Schneider, K., Oslund, J. L., & Liu, T. (2021) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · doi:10.22004/ag.econ.313938 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Creating Welcoming Schools: The Role of Positive Climates in Reducing Absenteeism
Graham, J., Chiang, Y.-C., & Choi, S. Y. (2026) · The American Educational Research Journal · doi:10.3102/00028312261417687 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Smith, K. J., Cleland, V. J., Chappell, K. J., Fraser, B. J., Sutton, L. P., Proudfoot, F., Dunbabin, J., & Jose, K. (2024) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu16193393 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
The global link between food insecurity and student achievement
Canbolat, Y., Rutkowski, D., & Rutkowski, L. A. (2025) · Large-scale Assessments in Education · doi:10.1186/s40536-025-00267-6 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Trends in the school lunch program: Changes in selection, nutrition & health
Bonomo, T., & Schanzenbach, D. W. (2024) · Food Policy · doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102608 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Norwood, B. (2020) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3576085 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Food for thought: School meals for sustainable societies
OECD (2023) · OECD education spotlights · doi:10.1787/629a2730-en · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Wholesome Lunch to the Whole Classroom: Short‐ and Longer‐Term Effects on Early Teenagers' Weight
Maruyama, S., & Nakamura, S. (2025) · Health Economics · doi:10.1002/hec.4959 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Re-engaging students in the post-pandemic era
Hashim, A. K., Wright, C., Stephens, S., & Davison, M. (2024) · Phi Delta Kappan · doi:10.1177/00317217241295425 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Zeitlin, A. B., Gomez, A. Z. D., Lee, C. J. Y., Pedroza-Tobías, A., Hecht, C., Patel, A. I., Hecht, K., & Grummon, A. H. (2025) · Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · doi:10.1016/j.jand.2025.09.011 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Beyond the lunch tray: a systematic review of school meals, social justice, and policy in Türkiye
Gökmenoğlu, T., & Durmus, C. (2026) · Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · doi:10.1080/19320248.2026.2685292 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The effect of free school fruit on academic performance: a nationwide quasi-experiment
Halkjelsvik, T., & Bere, E. T. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-48095-4 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
School Social Workers, Trauma-Informed Care, and Posttraumatic Growth
Branson, D. C., Wiggins, A., Cecil, D. C., & Miller, K. A. (2024) · Advances in educational marketing, administration, and leadership book series · doi:10.4018/979-8-3693-1455-5.ch011 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Mansfield, D., Sagan, D., O’Donnell, A. J., Takgbajouah, M., Loiacono, B., Withington, M. H. C., Cory, M., & Buscemi, J. (2023) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/josh.13407 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Effect of Free School Meals on BMI and Student Attendance
Davis, W., Kreisman, D., & Musaddiq, T. (2022) · Digital Archive @ GSU · doi:10.57709/fm2s-kt95 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Michela, E., Rosenberg, J. M., Kimmon, R., Sultana, O., Burchfield, M. A., & Thomas, T. (2021) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/qpu8v · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Kirksey, J. J., & Elefante, J. (2021) · doi:10.35542/osf.io/kpydj · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Schwartz, A. E., & Rothbart, M. W.
- ORCID
- Rothbart, Michah W.
- Venue
- Journal of Policy Analysis and Management
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2019-10-10
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 376-410
- ISSN
- 0276-8739 (ISSN-L)
- 1520-6688
- OpenAlex
- W2620433002
- Cited by
- 170
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 23.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5R01DK097347‐02)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations
- Social Sciences › Education › School Choice and Performance
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
- Keywords
- school meals, academic performance, test scores, junior high school students, school lunch participation, food assistance policy, obesity, body mass index, New York City public schools
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
