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 COVID-19 pandemic has brought a breathtaking amount of change to the nation's schools in a matter of weeks. On March 11, Seattle Public Schools was the first major district to close schools. The next day, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced the first statewide school closure order effective March 17, beginning a cascade of similar orders. By…

Background: The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) directed the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to revise school meal standards. Students are most affected by efforts to improve the school food environment; yet, few studies directly include students. This study examined high school students' experiences of school meal reform to gain…

A recent series of emails and phone calls from parents concerned about the sugar content of Houston Independent School District's school breakfasts revealed that a new issue had risen to the surface. This prompted us to look closely at the sugar content of our breakfast items. School districts participating in the National School Breakfast Program…

Since mid-March, millions of schoolchildren have been stuck at home due to school closures brought on by the rapid spread of COVID-19. School districts' initial responses were captured by the first wave of the American Enterprise Institute's (AEI) COVID-19 Education Response Longitudinal Survey (C-ERLS), a nationally representative survey of…

When school buildings first closed in mid-March, few education leaders knew how long such closures would last. Now, that picture is becoming increasingly clear. Nearly all state governments have issued orders or recommendations requiring school buildings to remain closed for the duration of the 2019-20 academic year due to the threat of COVID-19.…

This report, which is the third in the American Enterprise Institute's (AEI's) "School District Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic" series, provides an update on the state of the nation's schools using the newest wave of COVID-19 Education Response Longitudinal Survey (C-ERLS) data. It describes how the nation's public school system has…

This is the fifth report in the "School District Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic" series, covering changes that occurred in public school districts between April 24 and May 8, 2020. Data for this report were collected on May 7 and 8. School districts' responses for this period were captured by the fifth wave of the American Enterprise…

This is the sixth report in the "School District Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic" series, covering changes that occurred in public school districts between May 8 and May 29, 2020. Data for this report were collected on May 27 and 29. School districts' responses for this period were captured by the sixth wave of the American Enterprise…

Over 42 million meals--31.2 million lunches and 11 million breakfasts--were served on a typical school day in fiscal year 2009 to children through USDA's National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. School food authorities (SFAs) operate local school feeding programs and deliver the meals to the schools. SFAs must serve appealing,…

This study examines the extent to which location influences school foodservice costs per meal. It does not examine the effects of cost variation on financial solvency of an school food authority (SFA) or the adequacy of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) meal reimbursements. Higher per meal costs do not necessarily indicate that an SFA is…

The federal government spends about $10 billion each year to provide meals to over 30 million students through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. However, a 2007 study estimated that of this amount, $860 million (8.6 percent) in school year 2005-2006 was paid improperly because of errors in the number of meals counted and claimed…

Purpose/Objectives: The Reauthorization Act of 2004 requires schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs to establish a wellness policy. The purpose of this study was to examine school foodservice directors' attitudes about the potential benefits of the wellness policy. Methods: A survey research design was…

This year's budget cleaver has chopped away at school cafeteria budgets across the country. In some districts, this means fewer choices on the lunch line, fewer staffers, deteriorating equipment, and more sales of snack and processed foods. Some schools have dropped the School Lunch Program because of budget cuts. (MLH)

Some young people refuse to eat anything that once had a face. Since a vegetarian child can make food choices just as unhealthy as those of a meat-eating child, nutritionists recommend that school food-service directors adapt traditional nutritional foods that children like to a vegetarian menu. (MLF)