About 61 percent of school districts used direct certification in the NSLP in the 2001-02 school year, the same share as in 1996. Direct certification increased the number of children certified for free meals by about 400,000 and slightly increased overall NSLP participation. Under direct...

Erroneous payments in the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs occur when school districts claim reimbursement at the free or reduced-price rate for meals served to students who are not eligible. They can also happen when schools don't claim reimbursement for children who have applied...

This new four-page issue brief details two approaches to ensuring that free and reduced-price school meals go to eligible families. The brief finds that direct certification is useful in improving program access, although it could reach more eligible households. However, a pilot program that...

Over the years, concern has mounted that many of the more than 26 million children certified to receive free or reduced-price meals may be ineligible for these benefits. This brief looks at the issue of reducing payment errors in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast...

Does eating school meals influence children’s dietary habits or chances of being overweight or obese? This study addressed these questions using data from the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment III Study. National School Lunch Program participants had lower intakes of sugar-sweetened...