Abstract
Feeding America. Child hunger fact sheet. http://www.feedingamerica.org/assets/pdfs/fact-sheets/child-hunger-fact-sheet.pdf. Published September 2017. Accessed April 22, 2018.
Rationale for Child and Adolescent Federally Funded Nutrition Assistance Programs
- Food Surveys Research Group, US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Overview of Child and Adolescent Federally Funded Nutrition Assistance Programs
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children
Nutrition Assistance Programs
National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program
- •implementing mandated school wellness programs;
- •participating in volunteer federal initiatives that include nutrition and physical activity;
- •utilizing the cafeteria as a nutrition education classroom;
- •providing healthy breakfast, lunch, and supper meals;
- •serving breakfast in the classroom;
- •providing healthy meals to children and adolescents with special health care needs;
- •planting school gardens; and
- •procuring local agricultural products.27,28
Child and Adult Care Food Program
Summer Food Service Program
Afterschool Snack Program
US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. School Meals: NSLP Afterschool Snack Service: frequently asked questions. Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/afterschool-snacks-faqs. Accessed May 20, 2018.
US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. School Meals: NSLP Afterschool Snack Service: frequently asked questions. Washington, DC: US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/afterschool-snacks-faqs. Accessed May 20, 2018.
Food Distribution Programs
Nutrition Education Programs and Related Initiatives
Federally Funded Nutrition Assistance Programs: Benefits and Rationale for Continued Support
Roles and Responsibilities of RDNs and NDTRs
- •Advocate for permanent and full funding to support individuals eligible for these programs. Such funding should support food assistance, meal service, and nutrition education programs targeted toward children and adolescents.
- •Advocate for an integrated health curriculum that highlights healthy food choices and stronger school wellness plans to emphasize the importance of healthy eating and physical activity to children and adolescents from an early age.
- •Participate in the development and implementation of evaluation (short-, medium-, and long-term impact) of federally funded nutrition assistance programs.
- •Use evidence-based practice guidelines when providing nutrition services and developing policies relating to nutrition assistance programs and services.
- •Provide technical assistance and training to professionals that offer nutrition-related services to children and adolescents in health and education settings.
- •Participate in program evaluation and the collection of nutrition surveillance data that can be used to advocate for permanent and full funding for federal nutrition assistance programs.
- •Advocate for healthy child-care and school environments that include comprehensive nutrition education coupled with the provision of meals, beverages, and snacks that meet the DGA.
- •Work with school administrators, teachers, parents, and communities to ensure that all foods and beverages made available or served in child-care and educational settings contribute to the overall quality of a child’s or adolescent’s diet.
- •Provide guidance on outreach and educational activities that focus on healthy food purchases and preparation to ensure that they are culturally relevant and socially acceptable.
- •Support state and federal efforts that specifically include comprehensive nutrition screening and assessment, education, and developmentally appropriate anticipatory guidance.
- •Provide leadership on the development and implementation of emerging public policy issues (eg, menu labeling) to promote healthy eating and active living.
- •Emphasize and strengthen the provision of program planning and evaluation, communication, and public policy and legislative training in dietetics education programs to support the ability of RDNs and NDTRs to administer nutrition assistance programs in various practice settings.
Conclusion
References
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Article info
Publication history
Footnotes
This Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics position was adopted by the House of Delegates Leadership Team on October 26, 1986 and reaffirmed on October 24, 1991; September 15, 1995; June 22, 2000; June 30, 2005; July 22, 2008; and April 10, 2013. This position is in effect until December 31, 2025. Position papers should not be used to indicate endorsement of products or services. All requests to use portions of the position or republish in its entirety must be directed to the Academy at [email protected]
Authors: Priyanka Ghosh Roy, PhD, RDN, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL; Theresa Stretch, MS, RDN, CP-FS, Institute of Child Nutrition, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS.
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT There is no funding to disclose.
Reviewers: Tatiana Andreyeva, PhD (University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT); Sonia Cotto-Moreno, MPH, RDN, LD (Dietitians Balance Health, San Antonio, TX); Sharon Denny, MS, RD (retired; formerly with the Academy Knowledge Center, Chicago, IL); Jennifer Folliard, MPH, RDN (formerly with the Academy Policy Initiatives & Advocacy, Washington, DC); Rosa Hand, MS, RDN, LD, FAND (Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH); School Nutrition Services dietetic practice group (Emily Hanlin, MBA, RDN, LD, Douglas County School System, Douglasville GA); Kathryn I. Hoy, MFN, RDN, LDN (University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC); Public Health and Community Nutrition dietetic practice group (Cassandra Nikolaus, MS, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).
Academy Positions Committee Workgroup: Mary J. Marian, DCN, RDN, CSO, FAND (chair); Cindy Kanarek Culver, MS, RDN, LD (Marietta City Schools, School Nutrition, Marietta, GA); Katrina Holt, MPH, MS, RD, FAND (Georgetown University, Washington DC) (content advisor).
We thank the reviewers for their many constructive comments and suggestions. The reviewers were not asked to endorse this position or the supporting paper.