Meeting nutritional needs of children in West Virginia is vital to the state's economic development. A malnourished, uneducable population will be unemployable in a high tech society and the state cannot afford custodial and welfare costs resulting from childhood malnutrition. Evidence of nutritional need in West Virginia includes low rate of participation in Food Stamp and Women, Infant and Children Supplemental Food Programs, dependence on food bank supplies high in fat and cholesterol, low birthweights, the nation's highest postneonatal mortality rate, short stature of school children, and high unemployment rates. Other effects of malnutrition include light weight, decreased mental capacity, and susceptibility to infection. Other states and nations have developed nutrition policies to produce an educable population. Increased aid to families in Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts resulted in lower infant mortality rates. Japan's post-war nutrition policy increased the size and performance of its population. Recommendations for improving nutritional status include a state government policy panel and position responsible for nutritional well-being, statewide nutritional/health survey, and nutritional screening at school entry. Supplementary tables accompany the text. A 73-item reference list is included. (LFL)