"Feed every kid. Everyone wins when kids are fed": A content and thematic analysis of public discourses about school-provided meals in Australia

School-provided meals (SPM) are internationally accepted as a safety net for children, doing triple duty by improving diet quality, alleviating hunger and facilitating school attendance and performance. Australia is one of few high-income economies without universal, government-supported SPM. The issue has previously divided public and political opinion. This research aimed to provide a snapshot of the framing of SPM in Australian news media posts on Facebook™ and public responses to these posts, to reveal public dialogue and underlying values about SPM.

Media databases were systematically searched for Australian school meal content between 2019-2023. All titles were screened based on predetermined inclusion criteria. The sample included 11 news articles with 16 Facebook™ posts. Content analysis was undertaken on the posts, and thematic analysis was undertaken on the 2839 public comments made by Facebook™ users on the posts.

In the posts, SPM were framed as a potential solution to child hunger, poverty and poor diet quality, an election promise, and a way to reduce parent workload. Facebook™ user comments included positive and negative views reflecting broad social ideologies and values. Four key themes were identified from the public comments, including food and eating, responsibility, power, and choice were identified. The predominant underlying values were power, security, self-direction, universalism and benevolence.

Normalising SPM in Australia would require careful consideration of design, delivery and the framing of messaging that addresses negative perceptions and strengthens positive views.