FNS published the subject interim regulation, and established the effective date as Dec. 15, 1999, because the customary effective date for regulations is 30 days after publication and given the health and reimbursement implications, we wished to implement the regulation as soon as possible.

This report fulfills a Congressional request for the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to report on "a comprehensive, integrated approach to nutrition education as a complement to the various nutrition assistance programs." FNS reviewed its current nutrition education efforts, and consulted with a wide range of nutrition education experts and stakeholders.

This rule amends the regulations for the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program and Child and Adult Care Food Program to eliminate the option of serving whole cow’s milk as part of reimbursable meals for infants under one year of age. 

Interest, research, and expenditures on dietary supplements are growing very fast. Americans spent $8.2 billion in 1995 for vitamins, minerals, herbs and botanicals, and sports nutrition products. About half of all Americans reported at least some use of vitamins and minerals in response to recent surveys. The general goal of the study is to examine existing data that bear on a diverse set of pertinent issues.

One activity that reflects USDA’s commitment to nutrition promotion is the development of state nutrition networks. Since October 1995, FNS has awarded cooperative agreements to 22 states to create nutrition networks that would develop innovative, large-scale and sustainable approaches to providing nutrition education to low-income families that participate or are eligible to participate in the Food Stamp Program.

The advance report of preliminary findings for the period 1995-1998 introduces the second installment in the annual series, Measuring Food Security in the United States.

This executive summary describes Team Nutrition (TN) and findings from a pilot evaluation of the initiative. Detailed research findings are contained in two separate reports.

In this report, data from the NFSPS are used to address several important questions concerning food store access of low-income households, including: (1) At what kinds of stores do low-income households shop? (2) What distances do low-income households travel to reach those stores? (3) What transportation methods do they use to reach their food stores? (4) Do low-income households engage in careful shopping behaviors that can allow them to get the most out of the money and food stamp benefits they spend on food? and (5) In general, how satisfied are low-income Americans with their shopping opportunities?

One of the main objectives of the survey was to examine the food security of FSP participants, in terms of the adequacy of the food available to them and their risk of hunger. The study also examined the amount of nutrients FSP participants used from home food supplies.