The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federal program that provides free and reduced priced lunch to millions of low-income children in urban schools. Empirical research shows mixed results on the physical and nutritional health of urban students participating in the program. However, a considerable limitation of this literature is that it…

Many children today are in full-time early care and education settings; they may obtain one-half to two-thirds of daily nutrient needs during their time at the centers. Because of that, early care and education professionals can play a key role not only to offer nutritious food but also to help children establish healthy eating habits. The purpose…

Consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables helps to reduce childhood obesity and improves academic achievement and attendance. However, providing fresh fruits and vegetables is challenging for some schools due to cost, administrative burden, and concern for food waste. To address these challenges, the Fruit and Vegetable Access for Children Act…

Food assistance programs--including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps), the National School Lunch Program, and the School Breakfast Program--have been remarkably successful at their core mission: reducing food insecurity among low-income children. Moreover, writes Craig Gundersen, SNAP in particular has also been…

Background: The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) directed the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to revise school meal standards to increase healthy food offerings. A critical stakeholder in the implementation of standards is Food Service Directors (FSDs). We sought to examine FSDs' perspectives on revised school meal standards to…

In the past 30 years, the prevalence of obesity in children has increased to epidemic proportions. The obesity rate among children ages 2 to 5 has more than doubled (from 5 percent to 10.4 percent); more than quadrupled (from 4.2 to 17 percent) among children ages 6 to 11; and more than tripled among adolescents ages 12 to 19 (from 4.6 to 17.6…

The federal school nutrition programs are the keystones to the diets of millions of American children. Schools have the opportunity to support healthy nutrition habits early in life by creating environments that encourage the consumption of healthy foods and beverages. This paper provides resources which offer general information about the…

For more than 20 years, the Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP) has been a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) research organization committed to improving public policies and private practices to better the economic and social conditions of low- and moderate-income Texans. CPPP believes the upcoming reauthorization of the child nutrition…

This study, which was conducted by a national consumer advocacy organization, examined the nutritional adequacy of the diets of elementary school children. The study also examined the nutritional adequacy of meals served in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The study determined that: (1) children consume too much fat, cholesterol, and…

The National School Lunch Program is designed to safeguard schoolchild health by improving and/or maintaining levels of nutrition, and strengthen the agricultural economy by stimulating food demand. The General Accounting Office (GAO) examined whether the program is meeting its legislative objectives and analyzed available information on what is…

This article presents the results of a survey by the School Nutrition Association (SNA) on the year-long adoption of wellness policies of 15,000 local schools nationwide. Released September 5, SNA's "From Cupcakes to Carrots: Local Wellness Policies One Year Later" was compiled from a survey of 976 school nutrition directors conducted in May 2007.…

The purpose of this study of food consumption in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) was to: (1) conduct a comprehensive review of literature on plate waste in school foodservice and other institutional foodservice facilities, (2) report the results of a pilot study designed to determine the degree of plate waste in the NSLP and its…

Studies show that childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Today, more than 23 million American children--or nearly one in every three--are overweight or obese. If childhood obesity is left unaddressed, a generation of individuals could face health, social, and economic challenges that promise to stress government…

Noting that children of all socioeconomic levels are at risk for poor nutrition, and that hunger and poor nutrition in America are on the rise, this report reviews what is known about the link between nutrition and learning in children and between nutrition education and eating habits. It describes several federal and non-federal government…

Findings of a review of research pertaining to federally subsidized school nutrition programs are presented in this report. The review of research, the first phase of the National Evaluation of School Nutrition Programs, is intended to provide guidance for the design of subsequent evaluation (including student, parent, and food administrator…