Project Description
The research project is an exploratory analysis of the effects on learning and behavioral outcomes of children in North Carolina of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). The CEP allows schools and districts in high-poverty areas to serve all students breakfast and lunch at no cost. Participating schools receive reimbursement for meals based on a formula based on the share of students that are eligible for free meals given participation in programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formally the Food Stamp Program) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
While the CEP funds schools and districts, many eligible schools and districts do not participate. In a national study, Murdoch et al. (2022) reported that only 55% of CEP-eligible schools participated in 2016-2017, which suggests that 45% of schools in the country leave money on the table and children miss out on free, nutritious meals. North Carolina mirrors the larger national trends—Fuller et al. (2021) studied a sample within the state and reported that 37% of eligible schools did not participate in CEP in the 2017-2018 school year.
To date, no researcher has used NCERDC data to evaluate the effect of school meal participation on educational outcomes. The WFPC hopes to fill this gap with the MIDS capstone. Before it pursues external funding and secures access to additional datasets, it seeks to study the NCERDC dataset to understand overall trajectories since the implementation of the CEP.
The WFPC’s longer-term aim is to pair the NCERDC dataset with external sources and determine potential causal inference between variables. MIDS students would be fully engaged in this effort. The WFPC has access to point-of-sale data that tracks daily participation and consumption patterns in school cafeterias. It would also be willing to consider analysis that incorporates other external data sources, which could include income or wealth measures.