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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Schools

School Foodservice Supply Chain Challenges Dashboard
An interactive dashboard that provides data on supply chain challenges experienced by School Food Authorities (SFAs) during the 2023-2024 school year. Includes information on the type of challenge and characteristics of the SFA, such as Healthy School Meals for All (HSMFA) status, public versus private, size, and urbanicity.
Date: 12/2024
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: USDA Food and Nutrition Service
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Lifting Kids Up with Grace: How a New Mexico Community Built a Grassroots Youth and Family Center from the Ground Up
Features the GRACE Youth and Family Center for Everyone, a New Mexico grassroots initiative that offers free programming to children, teenagers, and families in a rural county with high rates of substance use.
Author(s): Gretel Kauffman
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Results of USDA's Food and Nutrition Service-Administered School Food Authority Survey III on Supply Chain Disruption and Student Participation
Analyzes supply chain disruptions impacting school nutrition assistance programs during the 2023-2024 school year. Utilizes survey data from School Food Authorities (SFAs) to examine school meal applications and eligibility, reported supply chain challenges, impacts on school food operations, food and labor costs, student participation, strategies to address supply chain issues, and more. Includes data breakdowns according to SFA size and urban, suburban, or rural location.
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Food and Nutrition Service
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Ohio Policy Spotlight: School-Based Health Care and Medicaid
Provides an overview of school-based health services in Ohio. Includes county-level data on the percentage of Ohio children enrolled in any public health insurance.
Author(s): Becky Carroll, Sarah Al-Hashemi
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
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Assessing the Need to Convert Head Start Enrollment Slots to Early Head Start
Examines the process of converting Head Start funding/enrollment slots to Early Head Start services for pregnant women, infants, and toddlers. Analyzes case studies from 6 Head Start programs that converted enrollment slots in 2022 and 2023 and discusses motivation to convert slots based on program and community needs, including those in rural areas.
Author(s): Carly Morrison, Kate Stepleton, Diane Schilder, Catherine Kuhns
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Administration for Children and Families, MEF Associates, Urban Institute
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Barriers to Access to Local Produce in an Early Childhood Setting in Rural Appalachia
Analyzes access to fresh produce in early childhood programs in Appalachia as well as farm to school programming. Utilizes semi-structured interview feedback with program directors to examine issues such as staffing, increased work loads, regulations, and lack of funding, knowledge, parental involvement, and equipment.
Author(s): Erali' Tracie Miller, Kathleen Schroeder, Bhuwan Thapa, Elizabeth Shay
Citation: Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 14(1), 1-15.
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
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Factors Associated with Early Sexual Onset and Delaying Sex in Rural Middle School Youth
Examines results from a survey administered prior to a sexual health program aimed at rural middle school youth. Analyzes data from 6,799 students and the variables related to abstinence, sexual health knowledge, parental communication, intentions to abstain from sexual activity, and more. Discusses impacts of access to comprehensive and trauma-informed sex education.
Author(s): Teresa M. Imburgia, Devon J. Hensel, Abby Hunt, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
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The 2021–2022 Study of Family and Staff Experiences in American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start FACES Programs: Spring 2022 Data Tables and Study Design
Provides a comprehensive overview of Region XI Head Start programs, which works with American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities, and provides data from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES). Includes data on Region XI characteristics, experiences, health status, and needs of children and their families; cultural and linguistic experiences; and characteristics of Head Start programs and staff.
Author(s): Charlotte Cabili, Natalie Reid, Carla Chavez, et al.
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Children and Families
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The National School Lunch Program: Background, Trends, and Issues, 2024 Edition
Provides an overview on policy and participant changes of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) since 2008, focusing on school finances, program participation, and nutrition and food quality. Includes information specific to school characteristics, including those in rural areas.
Author(s): Saied Toossi, Jessica E. Todd, Joanne Guthrie, Mike Ollinger
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Youth Mental Health: Where Rural Families Can Find Help Now
Provides an overview of mental health struggles in adolescents, with a focus on the impact of mental health workforce shortages in rural areas of Minnesota. Discusses opportunities to address issues through education, prevention, and mental health access via primary care or schools.
Author(s): Marnie Werner
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Policy and Development
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