Discusses the development and implementation of the Lunch Bunch Writing Club, a weekly parent-student lunch and writing workshop organized by a fourth-grade teacher at Edgewood Elementary School in Homewood, Alabama. Parents assist their children in writing essays or stories on particular themes while becoming more informed about their children's…

Explains why privately-run lunch programs are providing better nutritional value at less cost than state-run programs. Several examples are provided of schools where lunch program privatization has increased participation and cafeteria discipline, improved nutritional and food quality, and has done so with financial efficiency. (GR)

Pending federal legislation would require that school meals meet federal dietary guidelines. However, food service directors and nutritionists see other obstacles to improving the nutritional content of school meals such as government red tape, costs, and difficulty in changing people's tastes. Hundreds of schools, usually in affluent communities,…

Presents an interview with Nikolai Nikolaevich Baganov addressing the presidential program "Russia's Children" that is made up of nine subprograms: Children of Chernobyl, Children of the North, Family Planning, The Baby-food Industry, Orphaned Children, Handicapped Children, Gifted Children, Children of Refugee Families, and Children's…

Three school districts are working successfully with a private contractor to reduce the operating costs of lunch programs, while increasing participation and maintaining nutrition standards. The facilities department of the fourth school is producing higher quality work and greater accountability under the direction of a private contractor. (MLF)

Despite federal and state regulations prohibiting the sale of nonnutritious foods in competition with school lunch programs, powerful market forces are keeping vending machines in schools. In 1997, schools generated $750 million for the vending machine market. Soft-drink companies are offering million-dollar contracts to some schools. Student…

Public schools can be considered a form of workforce development, and thus it is important to measure the "work product" of the schools. The Public Policy Forum's annual analysis of public schools in the 50 districts serving southeastern Wisconsin measured absenteeism as educational opportunities lost because children were not in class.…

Mary Story, Karen Kaphingst, and Simone French argue that U.S. schools offer many opportunities for developing obesity-prevention strategies by providing more nutritious food, offering greater opportunities for physical activity, and providing obesity-related health services. Meals at school are available both through the U.S. Department of…

This manual contains information about the selection and implementation of a meal counting and claiming system for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (BSP). Federal reimbursement is provided for each meal that meets program requirements and is served to an eligible student. Part 1 explains the six elements of…

The Lunch at SAMS program--an innovative lunch guest program for seventh graders--is described and evaluated. In this program, conducted at the Selinsgrove Area Middle School (SAMS) in Pennsylvania, adults from the community ate lunch with groups of seventh graders. The focus of the lunch guest program was to increase interaction between students…

Prepared for food manufacturers, this publication contains instructions for calculating the contribution that a meat or poultry product makes toward the meal pattern requirements of child nutrition programs. It also contains instructions on how to apply for and obtain the approval for a label containing a child nutrition statement. These…

This manual establishes policies and procedures for the Child Nutrition (CN) Labeling Program, a voluntary federal program run by the United States Department of Agriculture. The program is responsible for reviewing a product formulation to determine the contribution a single serving of that product makes toward the child nutrition meal pattern…

This is a summary of the final report of a study (begun in 1979) of the National School Lunch, School Breakfast, and Special Milk Programs. The major objectives of the evaluation were to (1) identify existing information on the school nutrition programs; (2) identify determinants of participation in the programs and develop statistical models for…

This collection of lessons and teaching suggestions is designed to aid local school lunch managers in fulfilling compliance with the requirement that school lunch programs and personnel participate in nutrition education. Provided in the first section of the booklet are general instructions for using the booklet, a guide to lesson plans for…

During 1987, five studies were conducted to evaluate the changes in child nutrition related knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral outcomes of participants in the Texas Nutrition Education and Training (NET) Program. Because the majority of statistically evaluated and criterion-referenced outcomes were positive, these studies helped demonstrate…