United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1993-12-01 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:RCED-94-32BR https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-94-32BR P0b002ee180388f43 f:rc94032b DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-RCED-94-32BR machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-94-32BR RCED-94-32BR School lunch programs Food relief programs Public assistance programs Program evaluation State-administered programs Child care programs Schools Cost analysis Agricultural products Comparative analysis National School Lunch Program Consumer Price Index FNS Consumer Price Index Food Away From Home Series Index USDA Commodity Price Support Program Briefing Report RCED On an average school day, an estimated 25 million children at more than 93,000 locations nationwide receive meals through the National School Lunch Program. In fiscal year 1993, federal funding for the program totaled about $4.7 billion. In 1991 and 1992, the Agriculture Department's Food and Nutrition Service, which runs the program, published the results of a survey of state and local school officials on the cost of meals. The results suggested that the level of federal reimbursement paid to schools for each free meal they served was roughly equivalent to the national average cost to produce the meal. This briefing report discusses (1) GAO's review of the Food and Nutrition Service study, (2) the ability of local school food authorities to produce meals at or below the reimbursement rate for free meals, (3) differences in meal production costs among regions, and (4) the appropriateness of the index that the Food and Nutrition Service uses to adjust reimbursement rates. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-94-32BR/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-94-32BR.htm GAO/RCED-94-32BR https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-94-32BR Briefing Report GAO/RCED-94-32BR; Food Assistance: Information on Meal Costs in the National School Lunch Program; School lunch programs Food relief programs Public assistance programs Program evaluation State-administered programs Child care programs Schools Cost analysis Agricultural products Comparative analysis National School Lunch Program Consumer Price Index FNS Consumer Price Index Food Away From Home Series Index USDA Commodity Price Support Program