Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Despite school closure, continuing school-provided meals is crucial to prevent the wider spread of food insecurity. The goal of this study was to describe Sintra municipality's response to adapt the school meal service during the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide some process evaluation data. METHODS: During two school closures, through the School Meals at Home service, the municipality provided a meal kit that supplied most of the children's daily energy requirements. To evaluate satisfaction with the service, a questionnaire was administered to the children's legal guardians. RESULTS: During the first school closure (26 weeks), 315,130 meals were delivered, 1,031 self-administered questionnaires were applied to children's legal guardians, and overall satisfaction with the service was 98.4%. In the second school closure (10 weeks), 218,660 meals were delivered, 1,784 self-administered questionnaires were applied to children's legal guardians, and overall satisfaction with the service was 96.2%. CONCLUSION: The School Meals at Home service provided a timely and structured response to ensure food access during school closures, achieving high levels of family satisfaction. The initiative supported vulnerable households and represents a replicable model for equity-oriented action in future public health emergencies.