title: School and local authority characteristics associated with take-up of free school meals in Scottish secondary schools, 2014.
abstract: School meals are an important state-delivered mechanism for improving children's diets. Scottish local authorities have a statutory duty to provide free school meals (FSM) to families meeting means-testing criteria. Inevitably take-up of FSM does not reach 100%. Explanations put forward to explain this include social stigma, as well as a more general dissatisfaction amongst pupils about lack of modern facilities and meal quality, and a preference to eat where friends are eating. This study investigated characteristics associated with take-up across Scottish secondary schools in 2013-2014 using multilevel modelling techniques. Results suggest that stigma, food quality and the ability to eat with friends are associated with greater take-up. Levels of school modernisation appeared less important, as did differences between more urban or rural areas. Future studies should focus on additional school-level variables to identify characteristics associated with take-up, with the aim of reducing the number of registered pupils not taking-up FSM.
authors.affiliation: MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences, University of Glasgow , Glasgow , UK.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chambers
authors.affiliation: MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences, University of Glasgow , Glasgow , UK.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dundas
authors.affiliation: School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Glasgow , Glasgow , UK.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Torsney
keywords: benefits take-up; free school meals; inequalities; multilevel modelling; stigma; utility-maximisation