FNS Documents & Resources

The WIC Participant and Program Characteristics (PC 2006) report summarizes demographic characteristics of WIC participants nationwide in April 2006, along with information on participant income and nutrition risk characteristics. A national estimate of breastfeeding initiation for WIC infants is included. The report also describes WIC members of migrant farm-worker families.

FNS sponsored the third SNDA study to provide up-to-date information on the school meal programs, the school environment that affects the programs, the nutrient content of school meals, and the contributions of school meals to students’ diets. Data were collected from a nationally representative sample of districts, schools, and students in school year 2004-2005. The nutrient content of school meals offered and served was compared to USDA’s current regulatory standards.

Program errors and the risk of erroneous payments in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) continue to be a concern. Slightly more than one in five students were certified inaccurately or erroneously denied benefits in school year (SY) 2005-06. New data estimates the gross cost of school meals erroneous payments due to certification error at about $935 million while other operational errors represent about $860 million. 

Report. Survey of the Public Health Nutrition Workforce: 2006-07

This notice invites state and local agencies involved in the administration of The Emergency Food Assistance Program and the general public to comment on the intent of the Department to modify the data sources used to calculate the formula for allocating TEFAP commodities and administrative funds among state agencies.

This notice announces the surplus and purchased commodities that USDAt expects to make available for donation to states for use in providing nutrition assistance to the needy under TEFAP in FY 2007.

This Notice announces the annual adjustments to the "national average payments,'' the amount of money the federal government provides states for lunches, afterschool snacks and breakfasts served to children participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs; to the "maximum reimbursement rates,'' the maximum per lunch rate from federal funds that a state can provide a school food authority for lunches served to children participating in the National School Lunch Program; and to the rate of reimbursement for a half-pint of milk served to non-needy children in a school or institution which participates in the Special Milk Program for Children.

These income eligibility guidelines are to be used in conjunction with the WIC regulations.

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 permits direct verification of school meal applications and requires FNS to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of direct verification (instead of household verification) by school district.

This is the second in a series of annual reports assessing administrative errors associated with school food authorities’ approval of applications for free and reduced-price school meals. In school year 2005/06, more than 96 percent of students who were approved for meal benefits on the basis of an application were receiving the correct level of meal benefits, based on the information in the application

files.