Food Service in the Nation's Schools

Food service in the Nation's schools provides a substantial outlet for U.S. farm commodities. The quantity of goods received by schools in 1975 exceeded 8 billion pounds, up 35 percent from 1963. This represents about 3 percent of total national food production. In 1980, over 80 percent of U.S. schools participated in the National School Lunch Program in which 4.4 billion lunches were served to 26.7 million children (57 percent of the U.S. school population). Nearly half of these lunches were served free or at reduced price to children from low-income families. In the 1980's budget constraints and declining enrollment will reduce the size of the school market