This report summarizes findings from year 5 of an ongoing evaluation of Meals-to-You (MTY), a pilot program administered by the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty (BCHP) and funded by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The MTY program is designed to deliver shelf-stable boxes of food to children in rural and remote communities during the summer, with the aim of addressing the increased risk of children’s food insecurity during the summer, specifically for those who lack access to summer meal sites. The MTY pilot was originally meant to last for three years and expire in summer 2021, but USDA extended the program for two more summers. This report covers the 2023 summer MTY program in Alaska, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah.
The Urban Institute is the independent program evaluator of the program and was contracted by BCHP to conduct an evaluation of MTY. We developed insights through a mixed-methods approach to data collection involving surveys and interviews with participants and school districts and interviews with vendors and implementation team members. We found the following:
- The summer MTY program served 3,855 households and 9,016 participants in Alaska, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah. The program successfully delivered roughly 669,460 meals.
- A delay in contract approval from USDA affected all aspects of program planning and execution and ultimately limited the number of school districts and families that were able to enroll.
- At the end of the program, 59 percent of participating households reported experiencing food insecurity. Food insecurity rates rose nationally in 2023, which can be partially attributed to elevated food prices and the end of emergency SNAP benefits.
This report contains several recommendations based on insights from parents and school districts that highlight ensuring families are well-informed about the program, prioritizing investment in shipping, and above all, the need to ensure future programming is planned and funded well in advance of initiation.
