Participation in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program

Abstract

This paper uses student-level data from the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study to examine participation in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP). Among students attending schools offering the relevant program, the NSLP participation rate is 56% and the SBP participation rate is 19%. Students who are certified for free or reduced-price meals are more likely than noncertified students to participate in either program. Among noncertified students, participation is negatively related to meal price. NSLP participation is less likely when the lunch offered contains < 32% of food energy from fat, suggesting that policies designed to drastically reduce the fat in NSLP lunches would also reduce participation. However, the fat content could be reduced somewhat below its current mean amount of 38% of food energy without affecting participation. Finally, the availability of the SBP does not appear to influence the likelihood of students eating breakfast.