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Article History

Received: 9 April 2025

Accepted: 11 August 2025

First Online: 24 August 2025

Declarations

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: This project was reviewed by the Texas A&M Institutional Review Board (IRB) and was determined not to constitute human subjects research, as it focused on quality improvement activities related to congregate nutrition programs in Texas (IRB ID: IRB2019-1059, Reference Number: 097987). Despite this determination, the research team adhered to principles of ethical conduct in research. All procedures involving participant engagement were designed and implemented in alignment with applicable institutional research policies and ethical standards. Participation in this study was entirely voluntary. Survey and focus group protocols incorporated a clear and comprehensive informed consent process. Participants were provided with detailed information regarding the purpose of the project, the nature of their involvement, potential risks and benefits, and their right to withdraw at any time without consequence. Verbal or written consent was obtained from all individuals prior to their participation. Project sponsors, Texas HHSC and ACL, have provided the grantee organization (Public Policy Research Institute, Texas A&M), the right to publish from project aggregate data.

: The contractual agreement for this project included provisions allowing for the publication of findings derived from the collected data, provided that individual identities were not disclosed. All data presented in publications are aggregated or anonymized to protect participant confidentiality. No personally identifiable information is included in the dissemination of study results.

: The authors declare no competing interests.