In fiscal year 2008, about 31 million children participated in the National School Lunch Program and more than 10 million children participated in the School Breakfast Program each school day. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) spent $11.7 billion on the school meal programs in that year. The majority of…

The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program operating in over 101,000 public and non-profit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to more than 30.5 million children each school day in 2008. In 1998, Congress expanded the National School Lunch…

This brief, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, examines how rural families use four of the major federal child nutrition programs. It finds that 29 percent of rural families with children participate but that there are barriers to these nutrition programs, such as the lack of public transportation and high operating costs for rural schools…

For more than 20 years, the Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) has been a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) research organization committed to improving public policies and private practices to better the economic and social conditions of low- and moderate-income Texans. CPPP believes the upcoming reauthorization of the child nutrition…

Public education in Alabama is moving in the right direction and is poised to be a national model for the college and career readiness of its students. Through some of the most challenging financial circumstances, public education in Alabama has continued to show great promise in many areas, including reading, math, and science. The success of…

This report describes work using nationally representative 2005 data from the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment-III (SNDA-III) study to develop a simulation model to predict the potential implications of changes in policies or practices related to school meals and school food environments. The model focuses on three domains of outcomes: (1) the…

The Oregon Statewide Report Card is an annual publication required by law (ORS 329.115), which reports on the state of public schools and their progress towards the goals of the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century. The purpose of the Oregon Report Card is to monitor trends among school districts and Oregon's progress toward achieving the…

Published annually since 1997, Newark Kids Count tracks key trends in child health and well-being in New Jersey's largest city with the latest statistics available. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: the state of children and families, family economic security, affordable…

The Food Stamp and the National School Lunch Programs play a vital role in helping poor, rural Americans obtain a more nutritious diet and alleviate food insecurity and hunger. This fact sheet looks at the extent to which rural America depends on these programs and describes characteristics of beneficiaries of these federal nutrition assistance…

The Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs held hearings on the crisis in the National School Lunch Program (September 7, 1971). This transcript on the hearings includes statements by members of the Committee and the testimony of four witnesses who are involved in the administration of various school food programs. In the appendixes,…

Various food service methods are employed to handle the explosive growth in the school lunch program in Hartford, Connecticut. (Author/MLF)

In trying to solve the problem of hunger in the classroom, the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs heard the testimony of many witnesses, among whom were: Miss Barbara Bode, Program Director, The Children's Foundation; Miss Barbara Hockert, President, Burlington Ad Hoc Committee on School Lunches; and, Mrs. Joseph H. Young,…

The record of the hearings includes the testimony of the many witnesses, among whom were Michigan educators, administrators, and food specialists. In addition, material submitted by the witnesses and relevant newspaper articles citations are included in the appendixes. (JW)

Senators Philip A. Hart and George McGovern were major witnesses at these hearings. Miscellaneous articles, communications, and publications relevant to the Committee are included in the record. (JW)

Criticizes the federal regulations that encourage waste and cheating in the school lunch program. (IRT)