This report responds to a requirement of PL 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of state and local efforts to conduct direct certification of children for free school meals. Under direct certification, children are determined eligible for free meals without the need for household applications by using data from other means-tested programs.

This is the third in a series of annual reports assessing administrative error associated with the local educational agency’s approval of applications for free and reduced-price school meals. 

This report uses data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 1999-2004) to provide a current and comprehensive picture of the diets of school-aged children. Data are presented for children who participated and did not participate in the National School Lunch Program. For comparison purposes, results are provided for low-income children and higher income children for both participants and nonparticipants.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program subsidizes nutritious meals and snacks served to participants in child care nationwide, providing different levels or “tiers” of meal reimbursement based on the income level of participating children, providers, and nearby geographic areas. Policymakers have long been concerned that programs such as CACFP are not as accessible to eligible children in rural areas as in urban areas.

This study examines the cost of producing National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program meals during school year 2005-06. It measures both reported costs – costs charged directly to school food service accounts – and unreported costs – those costs paid by school districts in support of school food authority operations – to estimate the full cost of meal production.

The Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 requires all federal agencies to calculate the amount of erroneous payments in federal programs and to periodically conduct detailed assessments of vulnerable program components. This is the second wave of a program assessment of the Family Day Care Home component of USDA's Child and Adult Care Food Program. 

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 authorized a pilot to operate in rural Pennsylvania during the summers of 2005 and 2006. The purpose was to test whether lowering the site eligibility threshold from 50 percent to 40 percent would increase the number of children participating in the program. 

This survey is the cornerstone of the food security measurement project begun in 1992 to carry out a key task assigned by the Ten-Year Comprehensive Plan for the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Program.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program is a federal program that provides meals and snacks in child and adult day care facilities. The child care component of the CACFP provides federal funds for meals and snacks served to children in nonresidential day care facilities. These include family and group day care homes (homes), Head Start centers, and some child care centers.

Data was collected from directors of 34 school food authorities participating in the Nutrient Standard Menu Planning demonstration during fall 1995 and winter 1996. This information was used to assess the implementation status of these sites and examine perceived strengths and weaknesses of the system.