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Resource | Research and Data Child Nutrition Tables

Child nutrition program data.

12/23/2025
Basic page Report Series - WIC & FMNP Modernization Evaluation

The WIC and FMNP Modernization Evaluation provides a comprehensive look at how we are working with WIC state agencies, local agencies, and other partners to modernize WIC and the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program. 

04/21/2025
Resource | Research and Data Child Nutrition Program Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic - July 2021 through September 2022

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.

03/18/2025
Resource | Research and Data | Report to Congress SNAP E&T Pilot Projects FY 2020 Report to Congress

The SNAP E&T pilot projects give Congress, USDA, and states the opportunity to test innovative strategies and approaches that connect low-income households to good paying jobs and thereby reduce their reliance on public assistance.

11/02/2020
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Evaluation of the Direct Certification with Medicaid for Free and Reduced-Price Meals (DCM-F/RP) Demonstrations, Year 2

This report examines the impact of using Medicaid data to directly certify students for free and reduced-price school meals in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs in 15 states in school year 2017-18. Certification, participation and reimbursement outcomes for Cohort 1 states in their second year of implementation and Cohort 2 states in their first year of implementation are discussed.

09/15/2020
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Study of the Administrative Review and Training Grants in the USDA National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program

This report examines in-depth the accomplishments, challenges, and lessons learned from 20 states that received and completed Administrative Review and Training (ART) Grants by the end of FY 2017. ART Grants provide funding for diverse activities aimed at reducing administrative error, including training for administrative personnel and improving state-level technologies in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program.

08/25/2020
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Assessment of the Administrative Review Process in School Meal Programs

The Administrative Review is the process state agencies use to assess compliance with federal requirements of SFAs participating in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. This study assesses the AR process by examining the results from a purposive sample of ARs. The study also describes in-depth how nine selected state agencies conduct their ARs, and ways the process could be further improved.

08/25/2020
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Assessing the Child Nutrition State Administrative Expense Formula

FNS provides state administrative expense (SAE) funds to state agencies to support administration and oversight of federal child nutrition programs in their state. This study examines the formula used for allocations of SAE funds, identifies factors that influence state agency spending, and presents a series of options for consideration to potentially improve SAE allocations and procedures.

08/25/2020
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Regional Office Review of Applications (RORA) for School Meals 2014

This is the tenth in a series of annual reports to examine administrative errors incurred during the local educational agency’s (LEA) approval process of household applications for free and reduced-price meals in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). This report examines administrative error estimates in student certification for free and reduced-price NSLP meals.

05/04/2015
Resource | Research and Data | Assessing/Improving Operations Program Error in the NSLP and SBP: Findings from the Second Access, Participation, Eligibility and Certification Study

FNS developed the Access, Participation, Eligibility and Certification (APEC) study series, which collects and analyzes data from a nationally representative sample of schools and school food authorities (SFAs) about every 5 years. APEC allows FNS to develop a national estimate of erroneous payment rates and amounts in three key areas: certification error, meal claiming error and aggregation error.  FNS recently completed APEC II, which collected data in School Year 2012-2013 and this report summarizes those findings.

05/01/2015
Page updated: July 21, 2026