Direct certification simplifies the process of certifying certain children for free school meals by eliminating the need for households to apply. The 2004 Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act required all local educations agencies (LEAs) to establish a system of direct certification by...

This study investigated factors that influence students’ participation in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs using recent data from a large, nationally representative sample of students certified for free and reduced-price meals during the 2005–2006 school year. Whether...

This report to Congress assesses the effectiveness of state and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals without the need for household applications by using data from other means-tested programs. At the start of the 2010-2011 school year, 1.9 million more children were...

This report provides information on the demographic and economic characteristics of SNAP households in fiscal year 2009. The average monthly number of participants reached a record high of 32.9 million. Nearly half of recipients were children, another 8 percent were over age 60, about 40 percent...

The participation rates presented in this report estimate the percentage of individuals eligible under federal SNAP income and asset rules who choose to participate in the program. Of the nearly 52 million individuals eligible for SNAP benefits in an average month in fiscal year (FY) 2011, 41...

This report describes the characteristics of SNAP households and participants and presents an overview of SNAP eligibility requirements and benefit levels in fiscal year 2012 (October 2011 through September 2012). Approximately 82 percent of SNAP households lived in poverty, 42 percent of SNAP...

Over the years, concern has mounted that many of the more than 26 million children certified to receive free or reduced-price meals may be ineligible for these benefits. This brief looks at the issue of reducing payment errors in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast...