Overview
USDA administers four major domestic food assistance programs that exclusively or primarily serve the nutritional needs of children:
- National School Lunch Program
- School Breakfast Program
- Child and Adult Care Food Program
- Summer Food Service Program.
In addition, Congress recently created the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, which provides fruit and vegetable snacks free to children in schools in selected States and Indian reservations.
The child nutrition programs work individually and in concert to provide a nutritional safety net for children and together account for one-quarter of USDA's domestic food and nutrition assistance outlays. In fiscal 2006, USDA spent $12.9 billion on these programs. The Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program at ERS studies and evaluates child nutrition programs and other nutrition programs, including the Food Stamp Program and WIC.
Features
Profiles of Participants in the National School Lunch Program: Data From Two National Surveys—The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) serves more than 29 million children each day—and of these, almost half live in households with incomes between 0-185 percent of poverty, according to this report. This study reports new estimates of NSLP participant characteristics using two national surveys: the 2001 Panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). (August 2006).
The Income Volatility See-Saw: Implications for School Lunch—This report examines the implications of income volatility among households with children for eligibility in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The lower a household’s income, the more likely it is to face volatile swings in monthly income. This income volatility results in two-thirds of lower income households experiencing changes in monthly eligibility for free and reduced-price school lunches during a given school year. In 2004, Congress extended the eligibility period for free and reduced-price school lunches from 1 month to the entire school year. (August 2006).
Evaluation of the
USDA Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program: Report to CongressERS reviewed a congressionally funded pilot program to improve fruit and vegetable consumption among the Nation's schoolchildren. The program funded $6 million for the 2002-03 school year to supply fruits and vegetables free to children in 100 schools in 4 States (25 schools each in Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, and Michigan) and 7 schools on the Zuni Pueblo Indian Reservation in New Mexico. Most participating schools considered the pilot program to be very successful; it has since been made a permanent program. A two-page Research
Brief on ERS's evaluation of the program is also available. (May 2003).
Recommended Readings
Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations: Volume III, School-Age Children—Data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES-III), conducted in 1988-94, were used to compare the nutrition and health characteristics of the Nation's school-age children—boys and girls ages 5-18. Three groups of children were compared based on household income: lowest income (income at or below 130 percent of poverty), low income (income between 131 and 185 percent of poverty), and higher income (income above 185 percent of poverty). This research was designed to establish a baseline for monitoring the nutrition and health characteristics of school-age children over time, particularly those in low-and lowest income groups. (December 2004).
Plate Waste in School Nutrition Programs: Final Report to Congress—This report examines the level of plate waste in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and strategies to reduce plate waste. Strategies examined include using a meal service provision allowing students to choose some but not all of the required meal items (“offer vs. serve”), rescheduling lunch and recess, improving the quality of food, tailoring serving sizes to student appetites, and providing nutrition education. (March 2002).
Food Assistance Research Brief—Child Nutrition Programs—This group of briefs looks at issues currently facing USDA child nutrition programs. Topics include the following:
See
all recommended readings...
Recommended Data Products
FANRP
Project DatabaseProvides details on FANRP research
projects, both past and ongoing, including the project's
objective, funding level, researchers, and expected completion
date. See projects under Child
and Adult Care, School
Lunch and Breakfast, and Summer
Food Service.
National Data Sets Useful in Child Nutrition ResearchBrief descriptions of national surveys and data sets with links to their sources. Surveys and data sets relevant to child nutrition include: the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B); the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K);Food and Nutrition Service Program Operations Data; the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF); the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP); the Survey of Program Dynamics (SPD); and the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Newsletters
Sign Up NowKeep current on activities in the Food
Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP) by subscribing
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announcements of our latest reports and other news. You
can also get the latest on other activities at ERS. To
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application form. Be sure to check "Food &
Nutrition Assistance Programs" under Particular Topic
Areas to receive information about FANRP activities.
Related Links
Food and Nutrition
Information Center (FNIC)One of several information
centers at USDA's National Agricultural Library. Access
information on the Child and Adult Care Food Program at
the Child
Care Nutrition Resource System and information on
the school meal programs at the Healthy
School Meals Resource System.
Food and Nutrition
ServiceAdministers USDA's food assistance programs
and provides program guidelines, data, and research on
the child nutrition programs.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—Summary of results from a Mississippi Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program.
Images Gallery
Food
and nutrition assistance programs at a glanceCharts,
tables, and data on food stamps, WIC, child nutrition
programs, and more.
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