The ideal school cafeteria includes a salad bar and serving tables with healthy food items. Certain cafeteria pitfalls, such as a noisy or stuffy atmosphere, can be avoided by good administration. Specific guidelines on campaigning for better school food consist of building a community coalition that holds public meetings, learning about the school food-service system, setting realistic goals for improvements, negotiating for change, determining if an impact is being made, and making use of the media. A brief history and description of food program administration, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations, school breakfast food requirements, and types of food-service systems provide an understanding of school food programs. One recommendation for school food program improvement is not to sell junk food during school hours. To help convince the community about the importance of good school nutrition, policy statements from organizations such as the American Medical Association are provided. Suggestions about how to lower fat, cholesterol, sodium, and sugar and to raise fiber amounts in school menus are made and examples of 11 school lunch programs around the nation are given. Resources for additional information are listed in Appendices A (5 organizations and 9 components of the USDA) and B (24 print and audiovisual materials). (EJS)