The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers the school meal programs that provide nutritious, lowcost meals to about 30 million children each day, according to USDA fiscal year 2019 data. School food authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program must comply…

Through reinforcement of policies and nutrition standards linked to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), school environments play an important role in preventing childhood obesity. The NSLP includes mandated nutrition standards that specify recommended servings of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, dairy and protein, as well as limits on…

The child nutrition programs support meals and snacks served to children in schools, child care, summer programs, and other institutional settings in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories. This report starts with an overview of child nutrition programs' funding structure and then provides detail on each program,…

Purpose/Objectives: Increasing children's fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption is an important goal for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). In 2012 the NSLP began requiring students to select a FV. The objective of this study was to compare children's FV choices in two school cafeteria environments a year before these new USDA regulations…

The federal government has a long history of investing in programs for feeding children, starting with federal aid for school lunch programs in the 1930s. Today, federal child nutrition programs support food served to children in schools and a variety of other institutional settings. The child nutrition programs support meals and snacks served to…

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 Programs (CNPs). Summaries of recently completed research projects and in-progress research are provided in this article.

The Summer Food Program (SFP) is a federally funded program designed to feed needy children during school vacations from May through September. Children may be fed breakfasts, lunches, and suppers, plus two snacks, up to seven days a week. All meals must be served free to all children. The program provides an opportunity to simultaneously improve…

This publication reports the considerations and actions of the Committee on Education and Labor, to which was referred H.R. 4222 to amend the National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Acts in order to extend and revise the special food service program for children and the school breakfast program, and for other purposes related to strengthening…

This publication reports the considerations and actions of a subcommittee, to which was referred H.R. 4222 to amend the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 in order to extend and revise the special food service program for children and the school breakfast program, and for other purposes related to strengthening the…

USDA helps millions of children from low-income households access healthy meals by purchasing food, including seafood, for the NSLP. USDA-purchased foods represent about 15 to 20 percent of the food served in the NSLP. According to the DGA, programs, such as the NSLP, can play an essential role in providing access to healthy meals. This can help…

The issue of school food and its role in the learning environment has been overlooked by educators, education researchers, and policy makers. This study uses observations and interviews in three high-poverty, urban schools to investigate how participants experience school food policy in their daily lives. Participants at all three schools believed…

Serving safe food is a critical responsibility for maintaining quality foodservice programs and healthy environments at schools and child care facilities. Child Nutrition Programs hopes you find this newsletter of assistance when reviewing the food safety program you have at each serving site. The articles contained in this issue are: (1) A…

Fill it out and turn it in: that's the message thousands of school districts send parents each year when they offer applications for the federal government's National School Lunch Program (NSLP). And each year, millions of parents comply. But new data suggest that the process for verifying eligibility for the program is fundamentally broken and…

The transcript of a congressional hearing on a proposed bill to extend and amend the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 is provided in this document. Representatives of the Food and Nutrition Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, testified that the proposed bill runs counter to the policies of the Reagan…

State School Food Service Directors were sent telegram questionnaires on January 23, 1975, by the above Senate committee. The purpose of the questionnaire was (1) to determine the most pressing problems facing those who have responsibility for administering the School Lunch and Breakfast Programs; and (2) to gather recommendations for…