Data’s on the Menu!: Updated NSLP and SBP Participation Analyses Reports Now Available 2019-09-17Here at SNA we are dishing up analysis of the freshest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) on National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) participation. Some of the high-level findings include: Overall Average Daily Participation: Lunch: An average of 29.68 million students participated in the NSLP each day in the 2018-19 school year. This is a 0.07% increase in the average daily number of students participating compared to the same time-frame of the previous school year, and a 6.45% decrease when compared to the 2011-12 school year. Breakfast: An average of 14.71 million students participated in the SBP each day in the 2018-19 school year. This is a .12% increase in the average daily number of students participating compared to the same time-frame the previous school year, and a 14.98% increase when compared to the 2011-12 school year. Average Daily Student Participation in Free, Reduced, and Paid Lunch and Breakfast Lunch: Compared to the 2017-18 school year, there was a very slight increase (1.31%) in the average daily participation of students in paid lunch, and very slight decreases in the average daily participation of students in the reduced lunch (- 2.01%) and free lunch (- .22%) categories. Breakfast: Compared to the 2017-18 school year, there was a slight increase (2.51%) in the average daily number of students participating within the paid category, and slight decreases in the free (- 0.13%), and reduced-price (- 2.79%) categories. Visit this link for detailed charts and tables (member login required) that break down changes in school lunch and breakfast by category (free, reduced, and paid) over the last several years!