Research and evaluation activities in USDA - Regular Items - United States Department of Agriculture - evaluation of national school lunch and breakfast programs

Family Economics and Nutrition Review, Spring, 2002

From the Food and Nutrition Service; Office of Analysis, Nutrition, and Evaluation

The School Breakfast Pilot Project

The School Breakfast Program, authorized by the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, started as a pilot program to provide funding for school breakfasts to children in poor areas and areas where they had to travel a great distance to school. The intent was to provide a nutritious breakfast to children who might otherwise not receive one. The importance of a nutritious breakfast is supported by the growing body of evidence that has linked it to improved dietary status and enhanced school performance. Hence, many observers have urged that school breakfasts become more available.

Despite an increase in the number of schools offering the School Breakfast Program, the percentage of students who eat school breakfasts is considerably lower than the percentage who eat school lunch. Those eating school breakfasts are more likely to be poor and qualify for free or reduced-price breakfasts. Some people believe that a universal-free program would result in more children consuming a nutritious breakfast and beginning the school day with proper nutrition and ready to learn.

Within this context, Congress passed Section 109 of the William F. Goodling Child Nutrition Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-336), which authorized the Secretary of Agriculture, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), to conduct a 3-year pilot project beginning in the 2000-2001 school year that provided free school breakfasts to all students regardless of family income.

Six of the 386 school districts were selected from those that applied to participate in the pilot project:

* Boise, Idaho: Independent School District of Boise

* Columbiana, Alabama: Shelby County Board of Education

* Gulfport, Mississippi: Harrison County School District

* Phoenix, Arizona: Washington Elementary School District

* Santa Rosa, California: Santa Rosa City Schools

* Wichita, Kansas: Wichita Public Schools

A total of 143 elementary school units from the participating districts were grouped into matched pairs on the basis of several demographic variables. One school unit in each pair was randomly assigned to the treatment group (universal-free school breakfast) or the control group (regular school breakfast). Within each treatment and control school unit, about 30 students were selected for the evaluation. The total student sample size was 4,290 (2,190 treatment and 2,100 control). Data were collected from students, parents, teachers, school district staff, and school records during spring 2001.

FNS's evaluation of the 3-year project consists of an implementation study and an impact study. The implementation study describes how the schools choose to implement universal-free school breakfast, assesses the effect of students' participation in the universal-free school breakfast on administrative requirements and costs at the school and federal levels, and assesses nutrient composition of the school breakfasts. The impact study assesses the effects of universal-free breakfast on a broad range of student outcomes: including school breakfast participation, breakfast consumption patterns, dietary intake, food security status, school attendance and tardiness, child health, cognitive functioning, classroom behavior and attentiveness, and academic achievement.

An interim report that provides results from the first year of the pilot was published in October 2002; a final report, in summer 2004. Additional information on the School Breakfast Pilot Project can be found at http:// www.fns.usda.gov/OANE/MENU/ sbppilot/sbpnotice.htm.

National School Lunch Program Application/ Verification Pilot Projects

This project responds to FNS's growing concern about program integrity issues associated with the current system by which School Food Authorities determine eligibility for free and reduced-price school meals. Twenty-two School Food Authorities across 16 States began testing pilot procedures in 2000-2001 to determine and verify children's eligibility for free and reduced-price school meals. Three models are being tested over a 3-year period to determine eligibility for these school meals: Up-Front Documentation, Graduated Verification, and Verify Direct Certification. Evaluation of the models will permit FNS to explore a variety of options to improve the targeting of free and reduced-price meals to income-eligible children.

The Year One Report will provide a descriptive statistical analysis of data FNS has collected from 19 School Food Authorities in 14 States that operated the pilot project in fiscal year 2000-2001. FNS is collecting administrative data from the participating pilot sites regarding several key program statistics such as percentage of children approved for free meals and reduced-price meals, number of meals served at free and reduced-price levels, and results of graduated and direct certification verification. Data reported by School Food Authorities to FNS for this purpose represent information all School Food Authorities are required to maintain for reporting purposes. These data allow FNS to compare changes in key program statistics in these School Food Authorities between the first pilot school year and the 2 pre-pilot years.