The increasing number of obese children and youth throughout the U.S. has led policymakers to rank obesity as a critical health threat. This report provides a broad-based examination of the nature, extent, and consequences of obesity in the nation, including the social, environmental, medical,...

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...

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...

Discusses effective access to the program by people who are eligible for it, noting that at any given time, only 59 percent of those who were eligible participated in 1998. Furthermore, this number has been declining since the passage of welfare reform legislation in 1996. Although there are...

The Food Stamp program is the largest of the domestic food and nutrition assistance programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. During fiscal year 2004, the program served 26 million people in an average month at a total annual cost of over $29...

WIC provides food, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and health care and social service referrals to nutritionally at-risk low-income pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and children through age 4. This report updates estimates of those meeting the criteria for WIC benefits from 1994...

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...

Describes a study design permitting a scientifically defensible evaluation of the impact of the School Breakfast Program on learning and cognitive development among children. Reviews the literature and presents a conceptual framework of the SBP-learning relationship, and then proposes and...