Factors and Outcomes Associated With Using Scratch-Cooked, Organic, and Locally Grown Foods in School Meals in California.

Background: Incorporating scratch-cooked, organic, and locally grown foods into school meal programs can enhance meal quality and support local food systems.

Methods: 430 California school food authorities were surveyed to (1) evaluate their use of scratch-cooked, organic, and locally grown foods in their programs; (2) identify demographic and operational characteristics related to this use; and (3) analyze the relationship between serving more of these foods and perceived barriers to student meal participation. Poisson and logistic regression models, adjusted for SFAs' demographic characteristics, were used.

The impact of a water promotion and access intervention on elementary school students in the presence of food insecurity.

Objective: School-based interventions encouraging children to replace sugar-sweetened beverages with water show promise for reducing child overweight. However, students with child food insecurity (CFI) may not respond to nutrition interventions like children who are food-secure.

Design: The Water First cluster-randomised trial found that school water access and promotion prevented child overweight and increased water intake.

Water First School Water Promotion and Access Intervention: A Cost Analysis Study.

Background: Adequate water intake is associated with improved cognitive and physical performance, prevention of dental caries, and overweight and obesity. However, access to free drinking water in schools remains inadequate. Water First, a school-based intervention promoting water consumption, was shown effective in preventing overweight, yet its costs have not been quantified.

Perceived Influence of a State-Level Universal Free School Meal Policy on Households With Varying Income Levels: An Analysis of Parental Perspectives.

Background: In the United States, a means-tested approach is often used to provide free or reduced-price meals (FRPM) to students from lower-income households. However, federal income thresholds do not account for regional cost of living variations. Thus, many ineligible households may be at risk for food insecurity.

Management and Clinical Outcomes of Neonatal Hypothermia in the Newborn Nursery.

Objectives: Neonatal hypothermia has been shown to be commonly detected among late preterm and term infants. In preterm and very low birth weight infants, hypothermia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Little is known about the clinical interventions and outcomes in hypothermic late preterm and term infants.

The Benefits and Challenges of Providing School Meals during the First Year of California's Universal School Meal Policy as Reported by School Foodservice Professionals.

States in the U.S. are newly implementing universal school meal (USM) policies, yet little is known about the facilitators of their success and the challenges they confront.

Parent perceptions of school meals and how perceptions differ by race and ethnicity.

Parental perceptions of school meals can affect student participation and overall support for school meal policies. Little is known about parental school meal perceptions under universal free school meals (UFSM) policies. We assessed California parents' perceptions of school meals during the COVID-19 emergency response with federally funded UFSM and whether perceptions differed by race/ethnicity.

Universal School Meals During the Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Parent Perceptions From California and Maine.

Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Congress authorized the US Department of Agriculture to waive a variety of school meal regulations and funded school meals daily for all students at no charge regardless of family income. Because federal Universal Free School Meals (UFSM) ended with the 2021-2022 school year, several states, including California and Maine, adopted state-level UFSM policies.

Objective: This study aimed to understand parent perceptions of school meals and the federal and new state UFSM policies in California and Maine, including potential challenges and benefits to students and households.

A Comprehensive Examination of the Contaminants in Drinking Water in Public Schools in California, 2017-2022.

Objectives: Reports of unsafe school drinking water in the United States highlight the importance of ensuring school water is safe for consumption. Our objectives were to describe (1) results from our recent school drinking water sampling of 5 common contaminants, (2) school-level factors associated with exceedances of various water quality standards, and (3) recommendations.

Methods: We collected and analyzed drinking water samples from at least 3 sources in 83 schools from a representative sample of California public schools from 2017 through 2022.

Incidence of Neonatal Hypothermia in the Newborn Nursery and Associated Factors.

Importance: Thermoregulation is a key component of well-newborn care. There is limited epidemiologic data on hypothermia in late preterm and term infants admitted to the nursery. Expanding on these data is essential for advancing evidence-based care in a population that represents more than 3.

Drink Tap: A Multisector Program to Promote Water Access and Intake in San Francisco Parks.

Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), or drinks with added sugars, show promise in decreasing purchases and consumption of SSBs. Some have called for coupling such taxes with improvements in access to safe drinking water as a strategy for reducing inequities in SSB intake, yet no studies have examined such an approach. Drink Tap is a San Francisco-based program in which public tap water stations were installed in parks and public spaces (winter 2017) and promotional efforts (fall and winter 2018) encouraged water intake.

Effectiveness of a School Drinking Water Promotion and Access Program for Overweight Prevention.

Background And Objective: Drinking water promotion and access shows promise for preventing weight gain. This study evaluated the impact of Water First, a school-based water promotion and access intervention on changes in overweight.

Methods: Low-income, ethnically diverse elementary schools in California's Bay Area were cluster-randomized to intervention and control groups.

Parent Perception of School Meals in the San Joaquin Valley during COVID-19: A Photovoice Project.

School-based nutrition programs are crucial to reducing food insecurity. The COVID-19 pandemic adversely impacted students' school meal participation. This study seeks to understand parent views of school meals during COVID-19 to inform efforts to improve participation in school meal programs.

Implementation of Universal School Meals during COVID-19 and beyond: Challenges and Benefits for School Meals Programs in Maine.

School meals play a major role in supporting children's diets and food security, and policies for universal school meals (USM) have the potential to contribute to positive child health outcomes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools provided free school meals to all students in the United States, but this national USM policy ended in school year (SY) 2022-2023; however, a few states have adopted policies to continue USM statewide for SY 2022-2023. Research examining the challenges and strategies for successful continuation of USM is essential, along with studying pandemic-related challenges that are likely to persist in schools.

A Cross-sectional Study Characterizing Pediatric Temperature Percentiles in Children at Well-Child Visits.

Background: Temperature measurement plays a central role in determining pediatric patients' disease risk and management. However, current pediatric temperature thresholds may be outdated and not applicable to children.

Objective: To characterize pediatric temperature norms and variation by patient characteristics, time of measurement, and thermometer route.

Water Security Experiences and Water Intake Among Elementary Students at Low-Income Schools: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: To examine students' experiences of water security at school and how experiences relate to intake of water from different sources of water at school.

Design/methods: In this cross-sectional study, 651 students in grades 3 to 5 in 12 low-income public elementary schools in the San Francisco area completed surveys about their daily intake of water from different sources of water at school, experiences of water security including safety, cleanliness, and taste of water at school, and their demographics. Multivariable linear regressions examined associations between students' water security experiences at school and reported intake from different sources of water at school.

Frequency and Consequences of Routine Temperature Measurement at Well-Child Visits.

Objectives: To determine the (1) frequency and visit characteristics of routine temperature measurement and (2) rates of interventions by temperature measurement practice and the probability of incidental fever detection.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed well-child visits between 2014-2019. We performed multivariable regression to characterize visits associated with routine temperature measurement and conducted generalized estimating equations regression to determine adjusted rates of interventions (antibiotic prescription, and diagnostic testing) and vaccine deferral by temperature measurement and fever status, clustered by clinic and patient.

Storybooks About Healthy Beverage Consumption: Effects in an Online Randomized Experiment With Parents.

Introduction: Parents spend substantial time reading to their children, making storybooks a promising but understudied avenue for motivating parents to serve their children healthier beverages. This study examines parents' reactions to messages promoting healthy beverage consumption embedded in a children's storybook.

Methods: In 2020, a total of 2,164 demographically diverse parents of children aged 6 months to 5 years participated in an online survey.

Mitigating childhood food insecurity during COVID-19: a qualitative study of how school districts in California's San Joaquin Valley responded to growing needs.

Objectives: To explore best practices and challenges in providing school meals during COVID-19 in a low-income, predominantly Latino, urban-rural region.

Design: Semi-structured interviews with school district stakeholders and focus groups with parents were conducted to explore school meal provision during COVID-19 from June to August 2020. Data were coded and themes were identified to guide analysis.

Strength and Comprehensiveness of Drinking Water Language in California School District Wellness Policies.

Objective(s): Assess the quality of water language in California school district wellness policies and examine how language quality relates to school drinking water access.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Participants: Random sample of 240 schools selected from all California public schools, stratified by geography and grades served.

Examining recent trends in the racial disparity gap in tap water consumption: NHANES 2011-2018.

Objective: As tap water distrust has grown in the USA with greater levels among Black and Hispanic households, we aimed to examine recent trends in not drinking tap water including the period covering the US Flint Water Crisis and racial/ethnic disparities in these trends.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis. We used log-binomial regressions and marginal predicted probabilities to examine US nationally representative trends in tap and bottled water consumption overall and by race/ethnicity.

Temperature Measurement at Well-Child Visits in the United States.

Objective: To determine the frequency and predictors of temperature measurement at well-child visits in the US and report rates of interventions associated with visits at which temperature is measured and fever is detected.

Study Design: In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed 22 518 sampled well-child visits from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey between 2003 and 2015. We estimated the frequency of temperature measurement and performed multivariable regression to identify patient, provider/clinic, and seasonal factors associated with the practice.

Water Safety in California Public Schools Following Implementation of School Drinking Water Policies.

Introduction: Recent legislation requires public and charter schools in California to test drinking water for lead. Our objective was to describe 1) results from this testing program in the context of other available water safety data and 2) factors related to schools and water utilities associated with access to safe drinking water in schools.

Methods: Our study focused on a random sample of 240 California public and charter schools.

A cluster-randomized controlled trial of an elementary school drinking water access and promotion intervention: Rationale, study design, and protocol.

Introduction: Promoting water consumption among children in schools is a promising intervention to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake and achieve healthful weight. To date, no studies in the United States have examined how a school-based water access and promotion intervention affects students' beverage and food intake both in and out of school and weight gain over time. The Water First trial is intended to evaluate these interventions.