The national nutrition safety net consists of 15 programs that provide millions of low-income Americans access to a healthy and nutritious diet. It has been observed that many low income individuals are both overweight and participants in one or more nutrition assistance programs. This has led some to question whether participation in the…

A survey taken of mothers and children in two upstate New York school districts in order to determine the need for and effects of the childrens' participation in a free school lunch program found that a significant number of mothers and children could name important foods, but few could provide valid nutritional reasons. (Author/JM)

The impact of the 1977 Department of Agriculture regulations to vary minimum meal portion sizes for children is analyzed as it related to student participation in school lunch programs. (CT)

Background: Schools are in a unique position to promote healthy dietary behaviors and help ensure appropriate nutrient intake. This article describes the characteristics of both school nutrition services and the foods and beverages sold outside of the school meals program in the United States, including state- and district-level policies and…

During the school year, the School Lunch Program provides one-third to one-half of the nutrients low-income children consume every day. However, the rate of participation by eligible children in the Summer Food Service Program is only 15.5 percent of the target population. Created by Congress in 1968, the Summer Food Service Program is designed to…

The School Breakfast Program (SBP) celebrates its 20th year in 1995. It is an entitlement program available to any public or nonprofit private school or youth home that chooses to participate. This report includes the latest available school-breakfast participation data for school year 1994-95, and compares it to similar data for the previous…

This document presents findings of the latest annual report on school lunches conducted by Public Voice for Food Health Policy. The study examines access to fresh fruits and vegetables in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in terms of nutrition, distribution, and food safety. Data were obtained through telephone surveys of 200 school…

Oregon's Food Pyramid Choice Menus (FPCM) require that participating elementary schools offer three to seven entrees, at least two types of milk, and six to ten fruits and vegetables, as well as three or more types of grain products in a variety bar daily. The study discussed in this report was designed to answer two questions: (1) do the menus,…

This document consists of the four issues of a newsletter published during 1998. The newsletter discusses topics pertinent to school food service and providing nutrition for elementary school students. The February/March issue discusses exemptions under the Competitive Foods Regulation, celebrating cultural diversity in cafeteria menus, and…

This guidebook provides a combination of guidance and policy information that will help California sponsors to plan, purchase, prepare, and serve nutritious meals and snacks that comply with the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) meal pattern requirements. Sections 1 through 4 list foods that may be used for the meat/meat alternate,…

The first witness in this oversight hearing on the school lunch program, the Assistant Secretary for Food and Consumer Services (Department of Agriculture), presented the findings of a study on child nutrition programs mandated by Congress and discussed the Reagan Administration's view of the status of the programs as a whole, including its policy…

A diet that emphasizes the elimination of food containing artificial coloring and flavoring from meals served to hyperactive children has met with success in preliminary studies; college placement centers are advised to shift their emphasis from job research and counseling. (Author/MLF)

This report examines the Buy American provision of the Commodity Distribution Reform Act and the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children Amendments of 1987. In particular, compliance by school districts participating in the National School Lunch Program under the cash payment and commodity letters of credit systems is…

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…