U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for October 14: School Lunches

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

SCHOOL LUNCHESProfile America — Wednesday, October 14th. This is National School Lunch Week — a name that probably conjures up visions of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and other, somewhat mysterious cafeteria substances. But it's time to note the wholesome lunches being served every day to schoolchildren across the nation, and to thank the many patient people who prepare and serve them. There is a recognized link between having a good meal and the ability of a child to learn. This led to the National School Lunch Act in 1946. There are now some 58.3 million children in schools from nursery or kindergarten through high school. Of these, 31 million receive either free or reduced-cost lunches because of their family income. Over 12 million of these children also eat breakfast at school. You can find more facts about America's people, places and economy, from the American Community Survey, at www.census.gov.

Sources:National School Lunch Week: https://schoolnutrition.org/NSLW/ First Federal involvement: http://www.fns.usda.gov/slp Learning and nutrition: http://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/history_8 Student population/All races table: http://www.census.gov/hhes/school/data/cps/2013/tables.html  Lunch participants: http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/NSLPFactSheet.pdf Breakfast program: http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/SBPfactsheet.pdf 

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau