The oldest of the school nutrition programs, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides lunches to approximately 500,000 students every day in public, private, and parochial schools and residential child care institutions in Kentucky.
The NSLP also has an After-School Snack component, providing nutritious snacks to students involved in after school programs.
During 2006 and 2007, Kentucky ranks first among states that have made improvement in the nutritional quality of school foods according the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).
To determine the progress states have made in improving the nutritional quality of school foods, the CSPI evaluated the school nutrition policies of all 50 states regarding foods and beverages sold outside of the school meal programs through vending machines, a la carte (i.e., foods sold individually in the cafeteria), school stores, and fundraisers.
Each state policy is graded based on five key considerations:
1) Beverage nutrition standards;
2) Food nutrition standards;
3) Grade level(s) to which policies apply;
4) Time during the school day to which policies apply; and
5) Location(s) on campus to which policies apply.
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