Kids' Safe and Healthful Foods Project

More than half of public school districts in the United States are in rural communities where millions of students struggle with poverty and hunger. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 24 percent of rural children lived in poverty and 686,000 rural households with children were food insecure in 2014. About 95 percent of rural schools participate in the National School Lunch... Read More

Updates to a federal nutrition program for children in early care and education (ECE) settings will mean healthier meals and snacks for millions of kids across the country without substantial cost increases for providers, according to a new report on the impact of the changes and strategies for successful implementation that is being released in time for National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. Read More

Each day across the United States, more than 4 million children, many from low-income families, receive meals and snacks through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The program, which began as the Child Care Food Program in 1968, provides funding for these foods, in the form of reimbursements, to a variety of child care, after-school, and... Read More

More than 98,000 public school buildings serve neighborhoods across the United States, and frequently their doors are open to community members for civic group events, elections, recreation leagues, and other activities. But one of their most important assets—the kitchens—typically get overlooked when district and community leaders explore opportunities for shared use of school... Read More

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue released a proclamation May 1 that praised the nation’s schools for serving nutritious meals and committed to “provide significant technical assistance to schools as they continue to develop menus that are healthy and appealing to students,” but the statement also announced plans to undermine key standards that support... Read More

More than half of public school districts in the United States are in rural communities where millions of students struggle with poverty and hunger. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 24 percent of rural children lived in poverty and 686,000 rural households with children were food insecure in 2014. About 95 percent of rural schools participate in the National School Lunch... Read More

Updates to a federal nutrition program for children in early care and education (ECE) settings will mean healthier meals and snacks for millions of kids across the country without substantial cost increases for providers, according to a new report on the impact of the changes and strategies for successful implementation that is being released in time for National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. Read More

Each day across the United States, more than 4 million children, many from low-income families, receive meals and snacks through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The program, which began as the Child Care Food Program in 1968, provides funding for these foods, in the form of reimbursements, to a variety of child care, after-school, and... Read More

More than 98,000 public school buildings serve neighborhoods across the United States, and frequently their doors are open to community members for civic group events, elections, recreation leagues, and other activities. But one of their most important assets—the kitchens—typically get overlooked when district and community leaders explore opportunities for shared use of school... Read More

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue released a proclamation May 1 that praised the nation’s schools for serving nutritious meals and committed to “provide significant technical assistance to schools as they continue to develop menus that are healthy and appealing to students,” but the statement also announced plans to undermine key standards that support... Read More

Students are heading back to school, and that means cafeterias are bustling again. The nation’s school nutrition professionals serve 5 billion healthy lunches a year as well as millions of breakfasts, snacks, and even suppers. Test your school food knowledge and see if you know as much as you think you do! Read More

As of 2013, 88 percent of school districts needed at least one additional piece of kitchen equipment to help prepare and serve meals that meet the National School Lunch Program’s nutrition standards, according to a survey by the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project. Only 42 percent of meal programs, however, reported having budgets for equipment purchases; of those, less than half... Read More

Teen chefs from around the U.S. dished out their take on healthy school lunches for a shot at winning the Healthy Schools Campaign’s Cooking up Change 2015 national championship. Read More

School fundraising has opened a back door that lets high-calorie food and drinks into schools on a regular basis. One state even passed a policy allowing four unhealthy fundraisers every school day. Read More

To ensure that all foods sold in schools are healthier, Congress directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to update nutrition standards for snack foods and beverages and align them with the school meal guidelines. This graphic compares the nutritional value of the snack foods and beverages that had been available to students to those that meet the Smart Snacks in School standards that went... Read More

WASHINGTON—School food service directors are using a mix of strategies—three, on average—to encourage students to eat healthy meals and snacks, and many see few or no remaining challenges to implementing updated breakfast and lunch nutrition standards. The findings come from a new report from the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project, a collaboration between The Pew... Read More

WASHINGTON—Almost half (48 percent) of Ohio voters with children in K-12 public schools think that students do not have enough time to eat lunch at school, according to a statewide survey released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts. Read More

The vast majority of Kentucky voters, including parents with children in public schools, support the healthy school meal standards in effect nationwide, according to a poll released today by the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project. Read More

The vast majority of Alabama voters, including those with children in public schools, support the healthy school meal standards in effect nationwide, according to a poll released today by the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project. Read More

Eighty-one percent of parents in Pennsylvania support the healthy school meal standards in effect nationwide, according to a poll released today by the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project. Read More