Excerpts from the report: Institutions --penal, charitable, mental--comprise an outlet for food that has received little attention in market analysis. This may be attributed, in part, to the fact that the institutional outlet represents a relatively small part of the total market for agricultural products. Furthermore, information on this particular segment of the market has been costly and difficult to obtain. A pilot study designed to appraise institutions- -charitable, mental and penal--as a potential market for foods in large supply was made in 16 non-Federal institutions located in the northeastern and southeastern regions of the United States. Basic data obtained were the per capita quantities of food issued to institutional kitchens, the sources of supply, and the prices paid.