Dental disease, especially tooth decay, is reaching epidemic proportions among children of school age. Since sugar is a major cause of tooth decay and since many confections are sold in schools, it is recommended that schools remove confections and other nonnutritional food items from vending machines, fund-raising activities, and food services.…

The universal feeding program makes school lunches free for all students and uses the resultant increase in participation and reduction in paperwork expense to cover the loss in paid meals. In Brownsville, Texas, careful analysis of projected revenues and innovative marketing strategies have made the program a success. (MLF)

In the past 5 years, the Center for Ecoliteracy's Food Systems Project has grown from one schoolyard garden to the complete reinvention of Child Nutrition Services throughout the Berkeley Unified School District. Using food as the organizing principle for systemic change, the project is devising a pattern of healthy food, improved academic…

More than 50 million meals are served annually to Colorado's children through the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program, and Summer Food Service Program for children. Most of this report is comprised of tables showing average daily participation, meals served, and other statistics about school meal programs…

This practicum was designed to increase the inclusion of elementary-level students who have physical disabilities with their nondisabled peers in art, recess, and media center activities. Regular education classes were invited to join the art activities in the self-contained class for the students with physical disabilities, and a total of four…

This evaluation of the Special Milk Program (SMP) was undertaken in order to assess the impact of the free milk provision on the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and on student milk consumption. Other objectives of the study included (1) assessing milk waste in schools and factors affecting this waste; (2) updating data from previous surveys…

The No Child Left Behind Amendment (NCLBA ) established new safeguards about the use of student data for marketing or selling purposes. Specifically, NCLBA amended the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) of 1994 addressing pupil privacy by requiring school districts to develop a policy on the collection, disclosure, and use of personal…

Here's a simple, effective, school-based nutrition program from Oakham Center Elementary School, plus activities, a play, a quiz, a worksheet, and a resource list. (Editor/SJL)

After the state terminated funding and operation of school lunch programs, a Rhode Island school district chose to create and operate its own program. The results of the first year of operation include a 30% increase in student participation and a 33% increase in food service revenue. A concerted marketing effort and a growing catering business…

Considers ways to include schools' food service departments in technology planning. Discusses school food service software applications, considerations and challenges of automating food service operations, and business-to-business Internet solutions. (EV)

This article presents the results of a survey by the School Nutrition Association (SNA) on the year-long adoption of wellness policies of 15,000 local schools nationwide. Released September 5, SNA's "From Cupcakes to Carrots: Local Wellness Policies One Year Later" was compiled from a survey of 976 school nutrition directors conducted in May 2007.…

An effective, inexpensive means of cross cultural and linguistic enrichment is available through a "Friday Lunch Program" developed by Ashland College, Ohio in October 1980. International students from the college meet in three one-hour lunches, with selected 5th and 6th grade students from local schools. The lunches are intended to…

The Wichita, Kansas, Public Schools' Food Service Department Project Reduction in Paperwork (RIP) is designed to automate certain paperwork functions, thus reducing cost and flow of paper. This article addresses how RIP manages free/reduced meal applications and meets the objectives of reducing paper and increasing accuracy, timeliness, and…

Describes initiatives in New York State to meet student nutrition needs, including the Statewide Training Network for School Food Service Workers and the Nutrition Comes Alive in the Cafeteria program. Emphasizes the role of local boards of education in supporting better nutrition in school lunch and breakfast programs. (FMW)

An Arizona high school district chose to stop the National School Lunch Program in order to eliminate the unpopular components of the required meal pattern. Menu selections were narrowed down to the most requested items; nutritious food was offered at low prices; and fewer students left the campus at lunchtime. (MLF)