Effective financial management of school food service observes the following credos: (1) recognize that school food service is a business; (2) manage for productivity; (3) establish and maintain cost controls; (4) focus on expenses but not to the neglect of managing revenue; (5) balance near-term gain with long-term viability; and (6) reinvest…

A computerized menu-planning method, "Nutrient Standard Menu Planning" (NSMP), uses today's technology to create healthier menus. Field tested in 20 California school districts, the advantages of NSMP are cost effectiveness, increased flexibility, greater productivity, improved public relations, improved finances, and improved student…

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)

Studies by Tufts University's Center on Hunger and Poverty show conclusive links between nutrition and children's cognitive development. Cognitive defects can result from complex interactions between malnutrition and "environmental insults" that come from living in poverty. Poor nutrition has longterm consequences. Print and web…

This article focuses on overweight children and the role that educators (and schools) might play in supporting and reinforcing this unhealthful lifestyle. Included are strategies for promoting more healthful eating and activity habits. The article concludes with a list of resources offering additional help in addressing this growing threat.

The present study was an investigation of the potential moderating effect of social support on academic performance for students living in poverty. Data were collected in one urban middle school from 164 primarily Hispanic students using the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS; Malecki, Demaray, & Elliott, 2000) and students' course…

In fall 1990, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) contracted with Price Waterhouse to complete a study of the use of food-service management companies (FSMCs) by school districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the Tentative findings include: (1) contracts between school…

This publication is designed to assist early childhood providers, cooks, and parents in hygienic food preparation and a healthy diet provision for young children in Australian child care. The guide recommends nutritional requirements for children, using the five food groups as a guide for meal planning. The Australian dietary guidelines are also…

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 Federal government's oversight of its food and nutrition programs is discussed in this transcript of a Senate hearing. Testimony is presented regarding food stamps, the school lunch program, problems of targeting the needy, the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), commodity distribution, surplus dairy…

This reference guide for evaluation of school lunch training is a revision of a United States Department of Agriculture guide that was published in 1961. The guide is designed to help school administrators evaluate the training acquired by school lunch program personnel that is provided in training sessions for these persons. The booklet contains…

Conducted by the Wisconsin Nutrition Education and Training (NET) program, this study was designed to (1) assess public and private elementary school teachers' and public school food managers' nutrition knowledge, and (2) to ascertain their opinions on various topics related to nutrition education. The first section of the report provides…

In this Congressional report, the child nutrition amendments of 1978 are described in terms of their legislative history, inflationary impact, and present revisions. The reasons and provisions for extending and expanding certain child nutrition programs under the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 are explained. Reasons…

A comprehensive treatment of school lunch programs and facilities designed to aid school administrators in the planning and evaluation of their food service facilities. An historical perspective of school food service programs is followed by descriptions of the important considerations in planning and evaluating a school food service program.…