Food for Education in Guatemala: links between food intake and reading comprehension

ABSTRACT

This study examined how dietary diversity and key demographics are linked to greater Spanish reading comprehension for child beneficiaries of a USDA-funded Food for Education programme in Guatemala. All students in 3rd and 6th grade were surveyed across 118 schools, 3519 children in total. Generalised linear mixed models examined the influence of dietary diversity, and K’iche’ language ability, on children’s Spanish reading comprehension. Dietary diversity showed no significant relationships. However, consumption of eggs on the day of assessment predicted higher reading comprehension scores. Children who indicated they spoke K’iche’ fared worse on assessments. Implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Aid – Aid effectiveness
• Environment (built and natural) – Food security
• Social sector – Education
• Latin America and the Caribbean

Acknowledgments

The authors thank John Briggs, Alberto Lopez, and Francisco Ruiz at CRS Guatemala, and the children, parents, teachers and administrators who participated in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Thomas M. Crea is an Associate Professor, Chair of Global Practice, and Assistant Dean of Global Programs at the School of Social Work, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.

Antonia Diaz-Valdes is a PhD candidate at the School of Social Work, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.

Kaipeng Wang is an Assistant Profesor at the School of Social Work, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA.

Scott D. Easton is Associate Professor and Chair of the Health and Mental Health Fields of Practice at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.

Brenda Urizar is the Youth and Childhood Program Manager for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Guatemala, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.

ORCID

Thomas M. Crea http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8092-7353

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service to Catholic Relief Services, prime award number FFE520-2013/029-00, and awardee number CT-33-2015 to the Trustees of Boston College.