National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

During the school year, 31 million students participate each school day in the NSLP in approximately 100,000 schools. Every school day, 17.5 million students receive a free or reduced-price school lunch. More than 2 million children have been added to the National School Lunch Program since 2001.

	Children who participate in the National School Lunch Program eat twice as many servings of vegetables at lunch as non-participants.
	The NSLP meal pattern requirements are currently being updated to reflect the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs).

School Breakfast Program (SBP)

Nearly 10 million children in 82,000 schools receive a school breakfast every school day. In fiscal year 2006, 7.7 million students received a free or reduced-price breakfast. Since 2001, more than 2 million children have been added to the school breakfast program. The School Breakfast Program operates much like the NSLP.

	Research shows that eating breakfast helps children grow up healthy and strong,(i) and do better in school; helps children concentrate better in class and go to the school nurse less frequently;(ii) and children who eat breakfast eat more fruit than children who don’t. (iii)
	The SBP meal patterns are currently being updated to reflect the 2005 DGA’s.