The federal government has prescribed nutritional requirements for school meals since the authorization of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in 1946. Such requirements have changed throughout the course of history. Current law requires the Secretary of Agriculture to prescribe "minimum nutritional requirements" based on…

Purpose/Objectives: The average Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI) score for children 2-17 years is 53.9/100, which needs improvement. HEI scores for dietary quality (DQ) directly and positively impact children's health, academic performance, and their future. Because school Child Nutrition Programs impact a large proportion of U.S. children, it is…

Interest in the school lunch program and nutrition education has been growing throughout the Nation over a period of years, especially since the enactment of the National School Lunch Act in 1945. School administrators, teachers, members of school boards, school lunch managers, parents, and others are asking the Office of Education pertinent…

The FNS Research Corner provides a continuing series to summarize recently completed and current research conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in the area of child nutrition. Summaries of recently completed research projects, research conducted through grant activities, and in-progress research are…

This report provides descriptive and statistical data on the status of child nutrition programs in Colorado. The report contains descriptions of the National School Lunch Program, school breakfast programs, the Special Milk Program, the Summer Food Service Program, the Nutrition Education and Training Program, state dietary guidelines, Colorado…

This report discusses amendments offered by the Committee on Education and Labor to H.R. 8, the Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act, which reauthorizes and improves the nutrition programs under the National School Lunch (NSL) Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. Thirteen amendments to the NSL Act deal with: (1) technical assistance to…

Section 104(a) of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 made the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) available to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and schools in high poverty areas. Under the CEP, families are not required to submit applications for free or reduced-price meals, and schools must provide free lunch and breakfast to…

During the U.S. post-WWII recovery, appropriations for school lunch became codified in the 1946 National School Lunch Act, fueling program growth in the baby boom era to 18.9 million participating children by 1967, or about 42 percent of 45 million enrolled students. Then, in 1968, two reports funded by the Field Foundation of New York highlighted…

School food service should be considered a vital aspect of school operations, not an appendage to the educational program. This handbook revolves around the federal Child Nutrition and National School Lunch program serving about 24 million pupils daily in over 90 percent of the nation's 89,200 public schools. The booklet helps explain various…

This report uses data collected during the National Evaluation of School Nutrition Project (NESNP-II) in 1983-84 to describe the characteristics of students and households eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP), and the characteristics of NSLP and SBP participants and their households. The NESNP-II…

This report examines the background, purpose, cost, and regulatory impact of Senate Bill 1614, the proposed Better Nutrition and Health for Children Act of 1994. The purpose of the act is to reauthorize and make improvements in various federal nutrition programs, such as the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act. The report…

These hearings transcripts present discussions on amendments offered by the Committee on Education and Labor to H.R. 8, the Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act of 1994, which will reauthorize and improve the national school lunch program and the child nutrition programs under the National School Lunch (NSL) Act and the Child Nutrition Act of…

This report discusses amendments offered by the Committee on Agriculture to H.R. 8, the Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act, which reauthorizes and improves the nutrition programs under the National School Lunch (NSL) Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. The amendments deal with: (1) the amount of commodities provided to schools under the…

The Department of Defense is the only government entity serving more meals daily than New York City public schools, which operates a meal program with a rich history of both progress and regress. This story of New York City school meals is one that shows both local action and inputs of the federal government. A landmark policy change in 2017…

An estimated 339,000 workers were employed in foodservice operations in the nation's elementary and secondary schools. While news stories often focus on so-called "lunch ladies," the school foodservice workforce encompasses employees ranging from front-line cafeteria workers to chefs and food preparation staff to administrators and…