National School Lunch Program

No Holiday for Hunger

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 05.18.2012

Marian Wright Edelman

We don't usually equate "summer vacation" and empty stomachs. Did you know child hunger and food insecurity often peak in the summer? An overwhelming majority of children who receive free meals at school aren't as lucky once school lets out.

School Lunches To Become Healthier With Veggies And Whole Grains

AP | MARY CLARE JALONICK | Posted 03.26.2012

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The first major nutritional overhaul of school meals in more than 15 years means most offerings – including the always p...

FoodCorps Volunteers Teach Healthy Eating To At-Risk Young Kids (VIDEO)

Posted 01.06.2012

More than 17 percent of all children between the ages of two and 19 are clinically obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preven...

Top Six Food Politics Lessons Learned in 2011

Nancy Huehnergarth | Posted 02.26.2012

Nancy Huehnergarth

This hasn't been a banner year for improving America's food system, food environment or food policies. A look back demonstrates that not only have we failed to make any new progress in food and nutrition policy, but we actually appear to be moving backwards.

New York Schools Overspent $400,000 On Food

Posted 12.14.2011

A new audit conducted by City Comptroller John Liu reports New York City schools overspent more than $400,000 in food last year. Most of the oversp...

How The Food Industry Controls School Meals

Posted 02.04.2012

In a biting piece in The New York Times Sunday, investigative reporter Lucy Komisar offers an in-depth look at how the food industry -- and its comple...

Affluent Schools Sell Fancy School Lunches For Profit

The Bay Citizen | Posted 06.08.2011

Children spilled into the courtyard of Havens Elementary School in Piedmont one recent day as a cluster of mom-volunteers sorted through box lunches o...

Unpaid Lunch Bills Spell Financial Burden For Nation's Schools

Posted 05.25.2011

With the recession bearing down on American families, the rates of unpaid school lunch bills have skyrocketed across the country. In public school ...

162 School Lunches: Would You Eat Them? One Teacher Did, And Blogged About It

Posted 05.25.2011

On January 2010, Mrs. Q, began a daunting task. An elementary teacher using "Mrs. Q" as a pen name to preserve her anonymity, decided to eat school lu...

Should School Lunch be Free for All? Janet Poppendieck Thinks So

Regina Weiss | Posted 05.25.2011

Regina Weiss

Making school meals universally available and free for every child would not only offer a great moral good but would also offer a very smart, economical and efficient investment.

House To Vote On Bill To Improve School Lunches

AP | MARY CLARE JALONICK | Posted 05.25.2011

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans have temporarily blocked legislation to feed school meals to thousands more hungry children. Republicans used a proced...

Note to Parents: Get Pissed!

Annie Spiegelman | Posted 05.25.2011

Annie Spiegelman

At Marin Academy, a high school in San Rafael, California, the county's private school kids were eating what we all should be eating: organic, locally grown, whole foods with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in their school lunches.

U.S. Hunger Remains At Record High, Religious Leader Hopeful

Posted 05.25.2011

By Whitney Jones Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) The number of Americans struggling with hunger remained stable in 2009 despite the economic d...

NYC Kids Dish On Their Lunches For 'National School Lunch Week'

Posted 05.25.2011

In honor of National School Lunch Week, the New York Post asked three local students to rate their school lunches. Two of the three students who revi...

Mom Conquers Cafeteria In Healthy School Lunch Crusade

Posted 05.25.2011

One San Francisco mother is spearheading a campaign to overhaul the lunches that the city's public schools are serving its students, CNN reports. As ...

For Some Children, Going Back to School Means Getting to Eat

Vicki B. Escarra | Posted 05.25.2011

Vicki B. Escarra

For low-income families who struggle to overcome hunger, back-to-school season brings an end to the strain of putting additional meals on the table when the free and reduced-price school breakfasts and lunches are unavailable.

Why The House Child Nutrition Bill Is Better For Children

Vicki B. Escarra | Posted 05.25.2011

Vicki B. Escarra

While the improvements to the quality of foods provided by our child nutrition programs is a strong step forward, there are two shortfalls to the legislation that the House should consider before taking up the Senate bill.

Healthy School Lunches and Cafeteria Ladies Who Compost

Annie Spiegelman | Posted 11.17.2011

Annie Spiegelman

We have to be good role models for our children in order for them to develop healthy, eating behaviors for life. What can parents do, besides complain, to support you and school lunch programs nationally?

Love Lunch Community: Berkeley School Lunch Reform Gets Its Close-Up

Annie Spiegelman | Posted 05.25.2011

Annie Spiegelman

The goal of the Berkeley School Lunch Initiative was to serve nutritious, fresh, tasty and locally grown food for 5,000 children in the Berkeley Unified School District.

Childhood Obesity & Reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act

Elizabeth Rigby | Posted 05.25.2011

Elizabeth Rigby

Op-ed cross-posted Houston Chronicle Rachel Kimbro & Elizabeth Rigby March 5, 2010 In a series of high-profile events over the past few weeks, firs...

We Need All Hands On Deck For Children's Health

Robyn O'Brien | Posted 11.17.2011

Robyn O'Brien

As any parent knows, the landscape of children's health has changed, often making childhood feel like a pre-existing condition.

School Gardens Across The Nation, And A Resource List For Starting Your Own

Halle Tecco | Posted 11.17.2011

Halle Tecco

School gardens are an excellent way for children to get to know fresh fruits and vegetables, supplement classroom instruction, and just plain spend more time outdoors.

School Lunches Wouldn't Meet Fast-Food Safety Standards

USA Today | Peter Eisler, Blake Morrison and Anthony DeBarros | Posted 05.25.2011

In the past three years, the government has provided the nation's schools with millions of pounds of beef and chicken that wouldn't meet the quality o...

USDA Allows Meat In Schools that Doesn't Meet Fast Food Chains' Standards

Dave Murphy | Posted 05.25.2011

Dave Murphy

How is it that the U.S. can put a man on the moon, but can't seem to feed its children school lunches that are no healthier than the food served at McDonald's or Jack in the Box?

Good Nutrition Starts at School

Kerry Trueman | Posted 05.25.2011

Kerry Trueman

Only 2% of children get enough fruits and vegetables to meet the USDA's Food Guide Pyramid serving recommendations. An entire generation is missing out on the pleasures of home-cooked meals made with freshly harvested foods.