{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,3]],"date-time":"2026-04-03T14:17:39Z","timestamp":1775225859014,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,25]],"date-time":"2025-05-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748131200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100009633","name":"Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100009633","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Journal of School Health"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>The COVID\u201019 pandemic triggered nationwide school closures in March 2020, putting millions of children in the United States who depended on subsidized school meals at risk of hunger. In response, the US Department of Agriculture activated the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) program to provide emergency free school meals. This study examined organizations' experiences implementing these programs from March 2020 to September 2021.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>The study utilized a mixed\u2010methods approach, which included: (1) conducting in\u2010depth interviews with managers at program sponsor agencies responsible for meal distribution (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20099), and (2) distributing a survey to meal site managers (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u200941). We conducted thematic analyses of interviews and descriptive statistics for survey items.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Thematic analyses revealed challenges related to families' ability to access meal sites and communication gaps between organizations, hindering meal program implementation. Sponsors highlighted the benefits of federal waivers enabling grab\u2010and\u2010go options and extended pick\u2010up hours, which enhanced operations and family participation. Survey findings also showed that most sites regularly offered fresh produce and whole grains during the pandemic.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>Continuing meal program flexibilities could boost family participation and expand equitable access to school meals during summers or school closures.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1111\/josh.70016","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,25]],"date-time":"2025-05-25T23:29:02Z","timestamp":1748215742000},"page":"481-489","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Emergency Free School Meal Distribution Across Phases of the <scp>COVID<\/scp>\u201019 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Study"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"95","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3497-5626","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emily M.","family":"Melnick","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Health Solutions Arizona State University  Phoenix Arizona USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5986-9996","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Theresa","family":"Bui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine University of Arizona  Phoenix Arizona USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7881-7593","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francesco","family":"Acciai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Health Solutions Arizona State University  Phoenix Arizona USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2382-3056","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sarah","family":"Martinelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Health Solutions Arizona State University  Phoenix Arizona USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9619-9816","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Punam","family":"Ohri\u2010Vachaspati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Health Solutions Arizona State University  Phoenix Arizona USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_9_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/nu13030911"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_3_1","unstructured":"US Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service \u201cSeamless Summer and Other Options for School \u201daccessed July 28 2023 https:\/\/www.fns.usda.gov\/sfsp\/seamless\u2010summer\u2010and\u2010other\u2010options\u2010schools."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_4_1","unstructured":"No Kid Hungry \u201cNational Summer Meals Survey Major Findings \u201daccessed July 28 2023 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