This is the seventh in a series of annual reports that examines the administrative accuracy of eligibility determinations and benefit issuance for free or reduced-price meals in the NSLP. 

This is a report of the National Academies' National Research Council, Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT), which was commissioned by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. It is available here by permission. It may also be obtained through the National Research Council's website. This is the final version of the report. An earlier, prepublication version was made available in May 2012, but should no longer be used. This final version includes some important corrections.

The most recent School Food Purchase Study provides national estimates of the types, amounts, and costs of foods acquired by public school districts participating in the National School Lunch Program during school year 2009/10. It also includes a comprehensive analysis of the nutritional characteristics of foods acquired by these school districts. This report presents findings about the calories, nutrients, and food groups available for use in school meals and other school food programs, including a la carte foods, and the extent to which school food acquisitions are consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and associated food guidance system.

The Access, Participation, Eligibility, and Certification study found that one in five children certified for free or reduced- price meals in school year 2005-2006 was erroneously certified or incorrectly denied benefits. This study builds on APEC with three objectives: Develop an econometric model to identify indicators of local education authorities with high risk of certification error. Identify the key relationships between certification error and local characteristics. Provide a Web-based monitoring tool that will apply model parameters to annual Verification Summary Report data.

This is the third study that provides national estimates of the type, quantity, dollar value and unit price of food acquisitions by public school districts participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. The study examines the overall changes in the composition of the entire school food market basket including foods purchases for a la carte sales and the relative importance of donated USDA Foods. It also provides insight into the relationship between district characteristics, purchasing practices, and food costs.

This report responds to the requirement found in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 and summarizes hunger, obesity, and Type II diabetes among American Indian and Alaska Native children living on or near reservations or other tribal lands. The report provides a summary of the most current available statistics on hunger, obesity, and Type II diabetes among children living in Indian Country and offers comparable statistics for the general population. It also describes how USDA federal nutrition assistance programs serve children in Indian Country and how provisions of the HHFKA and other recent initiatives may improve those services.

This report contains nutrient and food group analyses of the USDA Foods distributed through the NSLP, CACFP, CSFP, FDPIR and TEFAP in fiscal year 2009.

This report summarizes findings of the second School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study. The study provides up-to-date information on the nutritional quality of meals served in public schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program.

The National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program are central parts of a national policy designed to safeguard and promote the nutritional well-being of the Nation’s children. The programs are administered by FNS, operating through state agencies that have agreements with the local school systems in their states. Despite the progress that has been achieved over the years in enhancing the quality of school meals, results of research conducted in the early 1990s indicated that school meals, on balance, were failing to meet certain key nutritional goals.

This report is the second of two reports on the nutrition of children using findings from the analysis of the 1989-1991 and 1994-1996 panels of the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals. The key objectives of the overall study are to describe the diets of school-aged children in the United States as of the mid-1990s, examine relationships between children's participation in the school meal programs and their dietary intake, and examine changes in intake between the periods 1989-1991 and 1994-1996.