Direct certification simplifies the process of certifying certain children for free school meals by eliminating the need for households to apply. The 2004 Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act required all local educations agencies (LEAs) to establish a system of direct certification by...

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides nutrient-dense foods, nutrition education, and referral to health care services for low-income pregnant women, postpartum women, infants, and children up to age five who are at nutritional risk. This study...

Although concern about the quality of children's diets has mounted along with increases in obesity, little is known about the food they purchase in school from a la carte cafeteria sales, vending machines, snack bars, school stores, and other sources. This report describes methods that could be...

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is the oldest food assistance program in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s nutrition safety net. Strategies for improving the diets of NSLP participants are crucial for meeting children’s nutritional needs, fostering healthy eating habits, and...

This report, the largest and most comprehensive examination of Americans who seek emergency food relief and the charitable network that serves them, notes that more than 23 million people received emergency hunger relief from Second Harvest in 2001, an increase of about 7.5 percent or nearly two...

The Child and Adult Care Food Program subsidizes nutritious meals served to eligible children and functionally impaired adults participating in family day care homes, day care facilities, emergency shelters, and afterschool programs. This report discusses the results of a pretest and pilot study...

This compendium includes 128 survey questions used in previous research to assess dietary knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors for low-income populations over the age of 18. Questions on nine topics—including fruits and vegetables; grains, legumes, and fiber; variety; fat; calcium food...