Full Article
As we welcome fall weather and colors, we also welcome the new issue for The Journal of Child Nutrition & Management. During this season, we cannot help to think how much the Journal has grown and how much it has contributed to the dissemination of research and other relevant information in the field. We aim to continue our purpose of making research results available we encourage the application of these findings into practice. Author(s) can submit articles in one of the following categories: 1) Commentary, 2) Current Issue, 3) Practical Solution, 4) Research in Action, or 5) Research Briefs. More information may be found at the following link. There are many individuals that have been involved with the development of this issue and help made each publication possible. In this issue we welcome our two graduate assistant editors, Nikol Lopez Llantuy and Hyei Rin (Hayley) Joo. Here is a bit more about each of them.
Nikol Lopez Llantuy is a second-year PhD student in Hospitality Management from Quito-Ecuador. She obtained her B.S. in Eco-Tourism at Universidad Central del Ecuador and completed her M.S. in Hospitality and Tourism Management at Ohio University. In her free time, Nikol is an avid reader and movie watcher who loves to spend time with her family. Nikol joined The Journal of Child Nutrition & Management as a Graduate Assistant in Spring 2022. Since then, Nikol has learned a lot about journal publication procedures and manuscript editing. She hopes to keep developing her research skills and that her work can make meaningfully contribution to the dissemination of research related to foodservice and child nutrition as they are a very important part of the industry.
Hyei Rin (Hayley) Joo started her study at the Kyung Hee University in South Korea as an undergraduate student. Following that, she received her Master’s degree in International Tourism Management from the Postgraduate School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Surrey, United Kingdom. She had a full-time internship at Hilton Guam Resort and Spa for a year. Also, she has work experience at Agoda Seoul Office as a customer experience specialist in the Customer Experience Group. She joined JCNM with a great interest in foodservice. As a new assistant, she is excited to read about the most up-to-date issues and applications in various child nutrition operations and education entities which will broaden her perspectives. By reading the articles, she hopes to learn about, not only the holistic publication processes, but also the flow of critical thinking, which is the basis of any work in academia.
Recognition of Reviews
As always, this publication would not be possible without the support and efforts of the people who serve as peer reviewers. All manuscripts submitted need to meet the criteria found on the JCNM website. To be considered for publication, articles are subjected to a meticulous blinded review, performed by at least two experts. The expertise of the reviewers is related to research design, methodology, and specific content related to the scope of JCNM . To support the propitious work of the Journal of Childhood Nutrition & Management, we encourage experts to apply to serve as a reviewer or nominate a colleague. For more information, do not hesitate to contact sarendt@iastate.edu
In This Issue
This issue of JCNM has one Research in Action article. For this first article Rosen et al. analyzed how to ensure proper benefits for students in school meal programs. The authors found that challenges arose with income reporting on applications, and proper documentation, which most commonly caused incorrect benefits. It was revealed that many households had difficulty understanding how to report income and the number of household members.
In this issue we also find three Research Brief articles. In the first article, Huye and Bradford evaluate perceptions of a sensory-based nutrition curriculum among head start teachers in Mississippi. This article presents three themes about curriculum influence in kids learning and in staff. Those themes are: Fun and Interactive Curriculum; Child Enthusiasm for Healthy Foods; and Center-wide Benefits. In the second article, Thapa et al., investigate the transparency and accessibility of high schools’ wellness policy documentation. This study analyzed 135 school websites and found no School Wellness Policies (SWP) on 13, and school health council membership lists located on only 10 websites. In addition, no School Health Council membership list included all eight required members and SWP implementation plans could not be located on any of the 135.
In the final Research Brief by Jindrich et al., they investigate the impact of COVID-19 on food service operations within Urban Kansas childcare centers. This study found that the majority of childcare centers analyzed, reported decreased enrollment; whereas a small number reported an increase. Moreover, food service operation modifications owing to COVID-19-related challenges were reported as well. From the analysis of survey results, three overarching themes were found: a) procurement challenges, b) changes in meal service, and c) menu and production changes in response to enrollment changes and product availability issues.
The final article belongs to the Current Issues category, where Reisinger and Dhillon analyzed the disruption of the food supply chain’s effect on school nutrition programs’ ability to meet USDA Nutritional Guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors examine the influence of COVID-19 on the procurement of items, the composition of meals, and meal delivery as well as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) response to this problem.
The inferences of the data and results obtained from these articles provide valuable and applicable knowledge that will contribute to the child nutrition and management field presently and in the future. JCNM editorial staff are looking forward to upcoming submissions and our next publication.
Happy reading…
Susan W. Arendt, PhD, RD, FAND
Editor, Journal of Child Nutrition & Management, School Nutrition Association
https://schoolnutrition.org/JCNM/
sarendt@iastate.edu