Parent Perceptions of School Meals Influence Student Participation in School Meal Programs

Objective: To evaluate if parent perceptions of school meals influence student participation. Design: In May 2022, an online survey was used to evaluate parents’ perceptions of school meals and their children's participation. Participants: A total of 1,110 California parents of kindergarten through 12th-grade students. Main Outcome Measures: Student participation in school lunch and breakfast. Analysis: Principal component analysis and Poisson regression models. Results: Three groups of parental perceptions were identified: (1) positive perceptions (eg, liking school meals and thinking that they are tasty and healthy), (2) perceived benefits to families (eg, school meals save families money, time, and stress), and (3) negative (eg, concerns about the amount of sugar in school meals and stigma). More positive parental perceptions about school meals and their benefits to families were associated with greater student meal participation. In contrast, more negative parental perceptions were associated with reduced student participation in school meals (P < 0.05). Conclusion and Implications: Parent perceptions of school meals may affect student participation in school meal programs. Working to ensure parents are familiar with the healthfulness and quality of school meals and the efforts schools are making to provide high-quality, appealing meals may be critical for increasing school meal participation rates.