Betty T Izumi, Rie Akamatsu, Carmen Byker Shanks, Kahori Fujisaki
An ethnographic study exploring factors that minimize lunch waste in Tokyo elementary schools
Public health nutrition
us school systems underwent major upheaval including closures implementation virtual andor hybrid learning stringent infection mitigation protocols initial phase covid19 pandemic aimed examine association food insecurity perceived health perceived stress social determinants health concerns among elementary schoolteachers serving predominantly lowincome children covid19 pandemic brighter bites nonprofit organization weekly distributes fresh fruits vegetables nutrition education materials 300 schools serving racial ethnic minority populations low income conducts annual surveys participating teachers help determine subsequent efforts support schools families school year analyzed selfreported data collected electronically brighter bites teachers survey 76 elementary schools summer 2020 used generalized linear mixed models measure association food insecurity healthrelated concerns 862 teachers responded survey 685 answered 2 questions food insecurity status 199 291 reported experiencing food insecurity food insecurity positively associated poor perceived general health greater perceived stress concerns various social determinants health changes fruit vegetable consumption covid19 pandemic study demonstrated high prevalence food insecurity highlights associated factors among elementary schoolteachers covid19 pandemic calls attention high correlation various concerns among elementary schoolteachers covid19 pandemic intervention policy efforts needed relieve food insecurityrelated concerns enhance wellbeing among teachers