School Lunch Politics

School Lunch Politics

Author: Susan Levine

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2011-11-21

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 1400841488

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Whether kids love or hate the food served there, the American school lunchroom is the stage for one of the most popular yet flawed social welfare programs in our nation's history. School Lunch Politics covers this complex and fascinating part of American culture, from its origins in early twentieth-century nutrition science, through the establishment of the National School Lunch Program in 1946, to the transformation of school meals into a poverty program during the 1970s and 1980s. Susan Levine investigates the politics and culture of food; most specifically, who decides what American children should be eating, what policies develop from those decisions, and how these policies might be better implemented. Even now, the school lunch program remains problematic, a juggling act between modern beliefs about food, nutrition science, and public welfare. Levine points to the program menus' dependence on agricultural surplus commodities more than on children's nutritional needs, and she discusses the political policy barriers that have limited the number of children receiving meals and which children were served. But she also shows why the school lunch program has outlasted almost every other twentieth-century federal welfare initiative. In the midst of privatization, federal budget cuts, and suspect nutritional guidelines where even ketchup might be categorized as a vegetable, the program remains popular and feeds children who would otherwise go hungry. As politicians and the media talk about a national obesity epidemic, School Lunch Politics is a timely arrival to the food policy debates shaping American health, welfare, and equality. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.


School Meals

School Meals

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2010-03-16

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 0309144361

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Ensuring that the food provided to children in schools is consistent with current dietary recommendations is an important national focus. Various laws and regulations govern the operation of school meal programs. In 1995, Nutrition Standards and Meal Requirements were put in place to ensure that all meals offered would be high in nutritional quality. School Meals reviews and provides recommendations to update the nutrition standard and the meal requirements for the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs. The recommendations reflect new developments in nutrition science, increase the availability of key food groups in the school meal programs, and allow these programs to better meet the nutritional needs of children, foster healthy eating habits, and safeguard children's health. School Meals sets standards for menu planning that focus on food groups, calories, saturated fat, and sodium and that incorporate Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Dietary Reference Intakes. This book will be used as a guide for school food authorities, food producers, policy leaders, state/local governments, and parents.


School Meal Programs

School Meal Programs

Author: Kay Brown

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13: 1437919405

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In FY 2008, 31 million children participated in the Nat. School Lunch Program and 10 million children participated in the School Breakfast Program each school day. The majority of school meals are provided for free or at a reduced price to low-income students. Some states and school districts have chosen to implement programs that eliminate the reduced-price fee (known as ERP programs) and instead provide free meals to students eligible for the reduced fee. This report provides info. on: (1) what is known about the states and districts that have eliminated the reduced-price fee for school meals; (2) the experiences of states and districts that have ERP programs; and (3) the factors that may help or hinder the estab. or continuation of ERP programs.


School Meal Programs

School Meal Programs

Author: Kay E. Brown

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 46

ISBN-13: 1437923941

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Over the past few years, several food recalls, such as for beef and peanut products, have affected schools. It is especially important that recalls affecting schools be carried out efficiently and effectively because young children have a higher risk of complications from food-borne illnesses. This report determined how federal agencies: (1) notified states and schools about food recalls; (2) advised states and schools about disposal and reimbursement of recalled food; and (3) ensured that recalls were being carried out effectively. To do this, the author interviewed officials from 23 school districts that had experience with at least one of four recent cases involving the safety of food in the school lunch program. Includes recommendations. Illustrations.


School Meal Programs

School Meal Programs

Author: Lisa Shames

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2011-08

Total Pages: 38

ISBN-13: 1437985432

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Through its commodity program, the U.S. Dept. of Agr. (USDA) provides commodity foods at no cost to schools taking part in the national school meals programs. Commodities include raw ground beef, cheese, poultry, and fresh produce. The commodity program has taken steps designed to reduce microbial contamination that can result in severe illness. This report reviews: (1) the extent to which the program's purchasing specifications related to microbial contamination differ from fed. regulations; (2) the extent to which specifications for raw ground beef differ from those imposed by some other large purchasers; and (3) examples of schools' practices to help ensure that food is not contaminated. Illustrations. This is a print on demand report.


School Meal Programs

School Meal Programs

Author: David D. Bellis

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2006-03

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13: 9781422304143

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Recent increases in child obesity have sparked concerns about competitive foods (CF) -- foods sold to students in school that are not part of federally reimbursable school meals. The nutritional value of these foods is unregulated, & students can purchase these foods in addition to or instead of school meals. This report provides info. from two nationally representative surveys about the prevalence of CF in schools, CF restrictions & groups involved in their sale, & the amounts & uses of revenue generated from the sale of CF. It also provides info. about strategies schools have used to limit the availability of less nutritious CF, based on visits to 6 school districts in Calif., Conn., Mississippi, Missouri, & South Carolina. Charts & tables.