In a study published in September 2021, researchers posit that "CACFP participating sites were more likely to report using any approaches to connecting families to food resources and significantly more likely to report offering "grab and go" meals, providing meal delivery, distributing food boxes to families, and recommending community food resources than non-CACFP sites" (Stephens et al., 2021).
The study surveyed early childhood education sites in two states, Arizona and Pennsylvania. There were a total of 589 respondents spanning different types early education environments including family child care homes, child care centers, Head Start centers and state preschool centers. 43% of the respondents participated in CACFP.
Read the study here.
Resource:
Stephens, Lacy, Caroline Rains, and Sara E. Benjamin-Neelon. 2021. "Connecting Families to Food Resources amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Early Care and Education Providers in Two U.S. States" Nutrients 13, no. 9: 3137. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13093137
Additional research resources:
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