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overview
USDA administers four domestic food assistance programs that exclusively
or primarily serve the nutritional needs of children. The National School
Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Child and Adult Care
Food Program, and the Summer Food Service Program together account for
nearly a third of USDA's domestic food assistance outlays. The child nutrition
programs work individually and in concert to provide a nutrition safety
net for children. In fiscal 2002, USDA spent $10.6 billion on these programs,
up $500 million, or 5.1 percent, from fiscal 2001. The Food
Assistance and Nutrition Research Program at ERS studies and evaluates
the child nutrition programs and other nutrition programs, including the
Food Stamp Program and WIC.
ERS also studies program outcomes,
vulnerable populations,
the macroeconomy, program
operations and integrity, and food
security in the United States.
contents
features
Direct Certification in the National
School Lunch Program: Impacts on Program Access and Integrity—This
study finds that directly certifying school kids for free meals raises
participation in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), increases the
number of kids certified for free meals, and lowers the number deemed
ineligible for the benefits they receive. In the 2001-02 school year,
61 percent of public school districts used direct certification, and about
68 percent of all public school students were enrolled in those districts.
With direct certification, school districts directly certify children
for free meals by using information from State welfare or food stamp offices
instead of requiring families to fill out applications. The Executive
Summary reports major study findings. The Final
Report provides more extensive information on the prevalence and implementation
methods of direct certification and estimates of the policy's positive
effects on program access and integrity.
 Evaluation
of the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program: Report to Congress—ERS
review of a congressionally funded pilot program to improve fruit and
vegetable consumption among the Nation's schoolchildren. The program,
which provides $6 million in funding for the 2002-03 school year, supplies
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 and feel strongly that
the pilot should continue. A 2-page Research
Brief on ERS' evaluation of the program is also available.
 The
Summer Food Service Program Map Machine—An
Internet-based mapping utility that profiles SFSP sites by detailing characteristics
of both the Census tract in which they exist and neighboring schools.
The map machine integrates three different types of information—Census
data, SFSP participation records, and Common Core Data—and provides
visual displays of SFSP sponsors and sites in geographic relation to areas
of concentrated child poverty. The website also provides all the underlying
data in tabular format. Maps and data are available for the entire Nation,
or a particular State, county, or neighborhood.
recommended readings
Several Strategies
May Lower Plate Waste in School Feeding Programs—An estimated
12 percent of food served to children under the National School Lunch
Program is wasted, according to an evaluation of the program conducted
in the mid-1990s. Girls tend to waste more food and nutrients than boys,
and younger children waste more food than older children. This report
discusses the types of food wasted, strategies for reducing plate waste,
and changes in the school food environment that may have affected plate
waste.
Food Assistance Research Briefs—This
new series, part of ERS's Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program,
looks at some of the issues currently facing Federal child nutrition programs,
including the National School Lunch Program, Summer Food Service Program,
and Child and Adult Care Food Program.
 Feeding
Low-Income Children When School Is Out: Final Report and Executive
Summary—The first comprehensive study of the Summer Food Service
Program since 1986 found that, in fiscal year 2001, more than 4,000 local
sponsors provided about 130 million meals at more than 35,000 feeding
sites. The number of children served in July 2001 (2.1 million) was about
14 percent of the number who received free or reduced-price school meals
each day during the school year. The nationally representative study,
sponsored by ERS, surveyed State administrators, sponsor staff, and site
staff on program operations and factors affecting participation. The Executive
Summary reports major study findings. The Final
Report provides more extensive information on the characteristics
of sponsors, sites, and participating children; the nutritional content
of meals served; and program operations and outreach.
See
all recommended readings…
recommended data products
FANRP Project Database—Provides
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 useful
in child nutrition research—Brief descriptions of national surveys
and data sets with links to their sources. Surveys and data sets relevant
to child nutrition include: the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals
(CSFII); the Current Population Survey (CPS); 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 Now—Keep current on activities in the Food Assistance and
Nutrition Research Program (FANRP) by subscribing to our free e-mail notification
service. You will receive announcements of our latest reports and other
news. You can also get the latest on other activities at ERS. To become
a subscriber, please submit this short 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 Service—Administers
USDA's food assistance programs and provides program guidelines, data,
and research on the child nutrition
programs.
images gallery
Food and nutrition
assistance programs at a glance—Charts, tables, and data on food
stamps, WIC, child nutrition programs, and more.
for more information, contact:
Linda Ghelfi
web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov
page updated: November 4, 2003
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