This report responds to the legislative requirement of PL 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of state and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals. Under direct certification, children are determined eligible for free school meals without the need for household applications by using data from other means-tested programs.
The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) Food Prices Database presents the cost of these consumed foods for 2003-04. It shows the actual cost of an apple consumed, the cost of a glass of juice drunk, the cost of lasagna eaten, etc. For example, did you know that when you purchase a whole chicken and only consume the meat, your price per pound eaten is actually twice the price per pound purchased? This is because the weight of the skin and bones is about half of the whole chicken purchased. The information in this database should be of interest to nutrition educators and economists who wish to compare relative prices of different foods as consumed, rather than the purchase price.