School food authorities (SFAs) participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs are required to verify income for a small percentage of households approved for free or reduced price meals each school year. However, getting households to respond to verification requests can be challenging for SFA staff. If households do not respond, they lose their benefits regardless of their actual eligibility.
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) along with other child nutrition programs (CNPs) administered by the USDA Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA) make it possible for schools to serve wholesome and appealing meals to students each day.
The goal of the school meal programs is to provide nutritious meals to children during the school day. Children may receive breakfast and lunch at no cost to them if they are categorically eligible for free meals or if they qualify for free meals based on federal poverty guidelines. Sometimes, however, children who do not qualify based on these standards would like a breakfast or lunch, but do not have money in their account or in-hand to cover the cost of the meal at the time of the meal service.
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.
The biennial WIC Participant and Program Characteristics Report describes a census of all participants in WIC. The most recent report (PC 2016) reflects state management information systems data from April 2016, and this Food Package Report is a supplemental analysis of that data. While PC 2016 summarizes participant characteristics, this report summarizes the food packages, or prescriptions, that state agencies issued to these participants.
This report supplements FNA administrative data on food package costs by estimating the average monthly food costs for each WIC participant category and food package type. It also estimates total pre- and post-rebate dollars spent on 17 major categories of WIC-eligible foods in FY 2014. This report is an update to the previous WIC Food Package Cost Report for FY 2010.
In the event of a Presidential Disaster Declaration, we can procure and provide an emergency supply of infant formula and food to supplement a state’s or FEMA's disaster feeding efforts.
Phase II was a methodological study, conducted in six sites during 2015–2016, to test an approach to determine its feasibility for a national evaluation.
The USDA Food and Nutrition Administration’s 1990 WIC Medicaid Study I found that prenatal WIC participation was associated with improved birth outcomes and savings in Medicaid costs. A 2003 study by Buescher, et al., found that WIC participation during childhood was associated with increased health care utilization and Medicaid costs, and concluded that WIC enhanced children’s linkages to the health care system.