We have studied school meal program operations for a long time. You can access published reports that go back to school year 1988-89. Each study in this series focuses on topics that are important to program operations at the time. Sometimes the studies also collect information about other child nutrition programs, like the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program.
We regularly collect information about the school meal programs and how they operate from the people who know best – the state agencies that oversee the programs in each state and territory and the school food authorities that manage the programs locally in one or more schools.
SNACS-II studied child care providers who participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program. This study found that these providers serve healthy meals and snacks to the children in their care. Children have better overall diets on days when they are in child care than on days when they are not.
This data collection fulfills states' reporting requirements and describes trends in program participation during the COVID-19 pandemic from July 2021 through September 2022. It is part of an ongoing study series examining child nutrition program operations, repurposed to collect waiver usage and trends in program participation and operations during the pandemic.
The third annual survey of School Food Authorities found that 95 percent of SFAs faced supply-chain related challenges in school year (SY) 2023-24, but that the number of reported challenges and impacts they have on school food service have largely declined compared to SY 2022-23. This report is the third in the series and, like the others, reports findings from a 20-minute online questionnaire sent to all SFAs operating child nutrition programs in schools to gather information on the impacts of continued supply chain challenges
Adult day care centers have been eligible to participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) since 1987. The objective of this study is to better understand key characteristics of adult day care centers participating in CACFP.
This data collection fulfills states’ reporting requirements and describes trends in program participation during the COVID-19 pandemic from July 2020 through Dec. 2021. It is part of an ongoing study series examining CN program operations, repurposed to collect waiver reports from all states. A previous report in the series detailed waiver usage and trends in program participation and operations from March through Sept. 2020.
This data collection fulfills states’ reporting requirements and describes trends in program participation during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is part of an ongoing study series examining CN program operations, repurposed to collect waiver reports from all states.
USDA's nutrition assistance programs touch the lives of one in four American consumers annually and the nutrition education efforts associated with select programs offer a powerful opportunity to fight hunger and improve dietary quality among eligible individuals and families.
State agencies competitively award subgrants to LEAs, SFAs or schools to purchase equipment, with a value of greater than $1,000.