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Abstract

This research examines food insecurity among school age children because I want to learn about the roles, ability and capacity of schools in providing nutritious food for all students at school. Specifically, this thesis investigates school lunch programs in urban and rural public schools based on wellness policies and hunger prevention programs that focus on feeding children. This research asks, how do public and charter schools in urban and rural areas approach their role in feeding children? And, how are public and charter schools innovating to improve kids? food security to positively influence academic achievement. Chapter 2: Background and Significance provides insight about childhood hunger in the United States, inequity within the food system, the importance of school food, and an explanation of the achievement gap as it pertains to hunger among children. In Chapter 3, I explain the methodologies I use to answer my research questions, which are content analysis, literature review and critical inquiry. In Chapter 4: Results, Analysis, and Contribution, I investigate the wellness policies intended to ensure that kids are nutritionally satisfied with school food. I use those findings to better understand how schools are approaching their role in feeding children and how they are innovating to change the food system. I investigate how schools use their wellness policies to address the achievement gap if at all. In Chapter 5, I conclude this research, identifying the roles schools play in feeding kids and how schools might continue to address the academic achievement gap between low-income and high-income children.

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