| Good nutrition is a critical part of a child's intellectual, emotional and physical development. Yet too many low-income families struggle to put enough food on the table. Thirteen million American children - about 18 percent of all children - suffer from food insecurity, defined as "limited or uncertain access to enough nutrition food." The federal government helps 49 million of these children every year by providing nutritious school meals and other nutrition assistance. Federal child nutrition programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture include the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), the Summer Food Service Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Congress made several of these programs easier to access for more low-income children as part of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act, signed into law on June 30, 2004.CHN Issue Brief on Child Nutrition (updated September 2004)
US Department of Agriculture: School Meal Programs
America's Second Harvest
Bread for the World
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Congressional Hunger Center
Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)
FRAC's Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Reference Page
FRAC Fact Sheet on WIC
National WIC Association
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