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...

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...

In school year 2004-2005, competitive foods were widely available and consumed in US public schools. The most commonly consumed competitive foods and beverages were low in nutrients and energy-dense. On average, children who consumed competitive foods took in more than 175 calories that were low...

Bringing school meals in line with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines will involve more than changing nutrient standards and revising menu planning regulations. SNDA-III provides evidence that, despite the hard work of many individuals, schools, and organizations, SMI goals were not fully achieved....

This report reviews sociodemographic and dietary characteristics of individuals in each group and describes their distinct dietary patterns, as identified through a cluster analysis of dietary intake. Individuals were classified as healthy or less-healthy eaters according to their scores on the...

This article notes that nutrient intakes are adequate for the majority of U.S. infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, except for a small but important proportion of infants at risk for inadequate iron and zinc intakes.

This research brief is intended to assist nutrition educators in assessing whether specific characteristics of nutrition messages promote desired dietary behavior changes. Based on a computerized literature search targeting peer-reviewed journal articles, it highlights three topics pertinent to...