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Combating Child Summer Food Insecurity: Examination of a Community-Based Mobile Meal Program

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Abstract

Low-income children’s access to meals decreases during the summer months due to losing the benefit of the free and reduced-price lunches they normally receive during the school year. Few studies critically examine community-based approaches to providing summer meals. This mixed methods study examined a mobile meal program implemented in a community with large economic disparities. Parents and caregivers who attended the mobile meal program with a child at one of three sites completed surveys that screened for risk of food insecurity and examined access and utilization of community food resources. Interviews with a representative subsample of English- and Spanish-speaking participants elicited an in-depth understanding of food insecurity in the community and perspectives on the mobile meal program. Surveys (n = 284) were completed in English (78%) and Spanish (22%). Participants identified primarily as Asian (32%), Latino/Hispanic (29%), and White (27%), with 26% screening positive for risk of food insecurity within the past 12 months. Qualitative interviews (n = 36) revealed widespread support for meals served in public settings as they were perceived to be welcoming, fostered social interactions, and helped the community at large. Participants described the high cost of living as a key motivation for participating and cited immigration fears as a barrier to accessing public resources. Findings from this study suggest the importance of innovative community-based approaches to serving hard-to-reach children during the summer.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Marie Pfeiffer and Cindy McCown of Second Harvest Food Bank and Debbie Austin of the Mountain View Whisman School District for their support in the development and implementation of this study. We would also like to thank Rubi Santillanez, Maria Toulokhonova, and Yvonne Molina for their assistance in data collection and analysis.

Funding

Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties provided support for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Stanford School of Medicine, 1265 Welch Road, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA

    Janine S. Bruce, Monica M. De La Cruz, Katherine Lundberg, Nicholas Vesom & Javier Aguayo

  2. Stanford-Surgery Policy Improvement Research and Education Center (S-SPIRE) and Goodman Surgical Education Center (GSEC) Department of Surgery, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    Sylvia Bereknyei Merrell

  3. 1265 Welch Road, Suite 240, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA

    Janine S. Bruce

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  1. Janine S. Bruce
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  2. Monica M. De La Cruz
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Correspondence to Janine S. Bruce.

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Bruce, J.S., De La Cruz, M.M., Lundberg, K. et al. Combating Child Summer Food Insecurity: Examination of a Community-Based Mobile Meal Program. J Community Health 44, 1009–1018 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-019-00675-0

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