Waiting for the Weekend – The Adoption and Proliferation of Weekend Feeding (“BackPack”) Programs in Schools

Kurtz Michael D., Brockmann Stephanie, Conway Karen Smith and Mohr Robert D. ()
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Kurtz Michael D.: Lycoming College, Williamsport, USA
Brockmann Stephanie: 169221 University of New Hampshire , Durham, USA
Conway Karen Smith: 169221 University of New Hampshire , Durham, USA
Mohr Robert D.: 169221 University of New Hampshire , Durham, USA

The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2024, vol. 24, issue 4, 1223-1258

Abstract: This research studies factors affecting the rapid spread of a donor-driven, Feeding America BackPack (weekend food assistance) program at schools in northwestern North Carolina. Foodbank data are matched with census tract, administrative-school, and GIS data for places of worship (PWs), facilitating analyses of the role of need, religion, and race/ethnicity. Our conceptual model yields a new hybrid fragmentation index that captures racial/ethnic differences between the school and community. Consistent with the model, discrete-time survival estimates suggest that schools with a racial/ethnic composition different from the surrounding community were less likely to get a program, especially if no other program-eligible schools were nearby. The GIS-created PWs bring new information, but yield results only weakly suggestive of a positive relationship. Results withstand falsification and robustness checks. A descriptive update reveals that most high-need schools eventually offered weekend food assistance but that race/ethnicity may still play a role for those that do not.

Keywords: weekend (backpack) food assistance; food assistance programs at school; racial/ethnic fragmentation index; charitable contributions; places of worship (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1515/bejeap-2023-0308

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