Aim: This study aims to evaluate the impact of a novel multicomponent nutrition education program (United for Healthier Kids; U4HK) on the diet consumed during school lunch among preschool children. Methods: The program comprised four tools: hero plates, hero content, hero menus, and hero books and stickers. The program was implemented for 16…

The Council of Chief State School Officers' (CCSSO's) commitment to equity is rooted in the belief that all students--across race, ethnicity, gender, language, disability, sexual orientation, or family background or income--deserve an education that prepares them for success in college, careers, and life. One of the actions that state education…

This Conversation Currents features Chef Kevin Gillespie, owner of Atlanta restaurant Gunshow, contestant on Bravo's "Top Chef Las Vegas" in 2009, and food activist for various organizations. He shares his journey to becoming a chef, ways to integrate healthy foods in schools, and the role of literacy in nutrition.

Background: The HEALTHY primary prevention trial developed an integrated multicomponent intervention program to moderate risk factors for type 2 diabetes in middle schools. The nutrition component aimed to improve the quality of foods and beverages served to students. Changes in the School Breakfast Program (SBP), National School Lunch Program…

The purpose of this study is to assess elementary school nutrition programs in a rural county in southern Illinois. The researcher interviewed the food service managers of eight schools and completed the School Health Index (SHI) based on their responses. Eighty-seven percent of the schools did not have venues such as vending machines outside the…

The number of overweight and obese children and adolescents has reached epidemic proportions, and recent federal surveys show that most school meals do not meet federal nutrition guidelines. Accordingly, there is growing interest in the nutritional quality of foods available in U.S. schools--and in the role of the government in helping to make…

This document provides information on: (1) the number of schools that withdrew from the National School Lunch Program (NSLP); (2) characteristics of schools that withdrew; (3) reasons why schools withdrew; and (4) lunch services offered at the schools after they withdrew. Data were obtained through a questionnaire of 352 school food authorities…

This final report of the Title I Task Force on School Support Services shows that poor children in America suffer disproportionately from health and nutrition problems. The report explains why ESEA should be used to reduce these problems in Title I schools. The report also examines current health and nutrition support service programs in Title I…

This is a compilation of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 and other selected Federal nutrition statutes, including those relating to the Act and major authorities for domestic commodity distribution. The section on the Act itself covers policy, definitions, establishment, eligibility, issuance and use of coupons, value of allotment, approval of food…

The stated purpose of the study discussed here was to assess the contribution of school meals to the nutrition of 778 primary and secondary school children attending schools in Kent using information collected during a survey made in 1968-1970 which included a weighed diet record, a socio-economic questionnaire, and a medical examination.…

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), within the Department of Agriculture (USDA), is responsible for administering the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Under the provisions of the program, states are reimbursed a set amount of money for each meal served under the program. In 1991 and 1992, the FNS published the results of a survey of a…

This paper describes the early history, present status, and future trends of the Bureau of School Lunches of the New York City Board of Education. A review of its early history indicates that although various citizen groups and the Department of Welfare served lunches to needy children prior to 1946, it was the passage of the National School Lunch…

The Subcommittee met to examine the attitudes and the administration's response to the hunger and the malnutrition of farmworker children. Some questions asked were: (1) What programs had been developed to meet the food and nutritional needs of farmworker families? (2) Were they properly administered? If not, why not? (3) Were there sufficient…

Background: Schools are in a unique position to promote healthy dietary behaviors and help ensure appropriate nutrient intake. This article describes the characteristics of both school nutrition services and the foods and beverages sold outside of the school meals program in the United States, including state- and district-level policies and…