This report responds to PL 105-379, which mandated the USDA  examine options for the design, development, implementation and operation of a national database to track participation in federal means-tested public assistance programs.

The National School Lunch Program operates in over 94,000 schools and institutions. More than 26 million children receive meals through the program on any given day; about half of these meals are provided free of charge. The School Breakfast Program operates in approximately two-thirds of the schools and institutions that offer the NSLP, most commonly in schools that serve large numbers of economically disadvantaged children.