National School Lunch Program

1. National School Lunch Program Zaheerah Y Shareef, RN MSN Walden University July 17,2009

2. Target Audience • Children grades 6-12 • Parents of children grades K-12 • Teachers • School Dietitians

3. What is the National School Lunch Program? • The NSPL is a federally assisted meal program that operates in public and non-profit private schools (USDA,2009). • NSPL provides nutritionally balanced meals to students based on the Food Guide Pyramid. • The meals are offered at reduce price or free of charge.

4. What is the National School Lunch Program (cont’d) • NSLP operates in over 101,000 institutions across the United States to over 30.5 million children. • In 1998, Congress expanded the NSLP to include snacks to children in afterschool programs. • The NSLP covers children to 18 years of age.

5. What is the National School Lunch Program (cont’d) • The NSLP operates on both the federal and state levels. • Federal: NSLP is operated by the Food and Nutrition Service. • State: NSLP is operated by state funded education agencies

6. Origin of the National School Lunch Program • The National School Lunch Program was established under the National School Lunch Act that was signed by President Harry S. Truman in 1946 (USDA, 2009).

7. Origin of National School Lunch Program (cont’d) • Program was established after noticing that young men who attempted to enlisted and who were drafted in World War II had been malnourished as children.

8. How Does National School Lunch Program Work? • The National School Lunch Program participation is left to the discretion of the public and non-profit private schools.

9. Benefits of School Lunch Program • The schools that choose to participate in the NSLP program are entitled to receive cash subsidies as a reimbursement. • Schools who participate in the program also receive donated commodities from the USDA for each meal served.

10. Nutritional Requirements for School Lunches • Must meet the applicable recommendations of the 1995 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (USDA, 2009)

11. How can children qualify for the School Lunch Program? • For free meals, children must have a family income at or below 130% of the poverty level. • For reduced-price meals, children must have a family income between 130 and 185% of poverty level. • Children who are over 185% of poverty level pay full price, but may still receive a subsidy depending on the school.

12. Qualifications (cont’d) • Afterschool snacks have the same eligibility requirement as school lunch program. • Schools who have over 50% of its students receiving free or reduced price meals, may receive their snacks free.

13. Other Nutrition Programs • School Breakfast Program • Summer Food Service Programs • Afterschool Snacks • Afterschool Suppers

14. What can be done to improve school nutrition in the community? • Providing more variety of foods in the high school cafeteria. • Offering educational opportunities to food service employees related to nutrition • Involvement of parents and students to collaborate with community leaders in making recommendations relating to school cafeteria menus and school nutrition as a whole. • Making school lunch affordable for all students regardless of income status.

15. Improvement of School Nutrition (cont’d) • All students should be given breakfast free of charge regardless of status (i.e. receiving free or reduced price meals or paying full price). • All students should be provided in between snacks that meet nutritional guidelines set up by the school district and the National School Lunch Program. • Students who attend daily afterschool programs should also be given dinner/supper free of charge regardless of status (i.e. receiving free or reduced price meals or paying full price).

16. Recommendations for Children Grades 6-12 • Make an attempt to eat breakfast at home whenever possible. • Avoid eating foods such as candy, potato chips and carbonated drinks as meal replacements • Eat healthy snacks such as fruit, cottage cheese, cheese sticks and yogurt. • Do not skip meals • Make an effort to learn more about the food pyramid

17. Recommendation for Parents • Make sure that your child is eating three meals daily including snacks. • Try to keep junk food out of the house as much as possible. • When applying for free or reduced price meals, make sure that all information is accurate and up to date. • Get to know the dietitian or nutritionist at your child’s school and collaborate with him or her whenever possible.

18. Recommendations for Dietitians • Collaboration with parents • Determine if there are children with special dietary needs and provide intervention as deemed necessary. • Collaborate with students to determine menu choices • Provide necessary intervention for students who are considered ineligible for reduced price and free meals. • Have snacks and meals readily available for students who enrolled in after school programs regardless of income.

19. Conclusion • Nutrition is very important to school children. • Many children can not afford to have breakfast or any other decent meal at home. • Income levels play an important role in feeding children.

20. References • FRAC: An Afterschool Resource Center (2009). Retrieved from http://www.frac.org/afterschool/suppers.html • USDA (2009). Retrieved from http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Lunch/AboutLunch/NSLPFactSheet.pdf

21. Thank You