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Excerpts: The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers 16 nutrition assistance programs with the mission to increase food security and reduce hunger—in partnership with cooperating organizations—by providing children and people with low-income access to food, a healthy diet, and nutrition education in a manner that supports American agriculture and inspires public confidence. Child Nutrition Programs such as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) provide nutritionally balanced, low-cost or no-cost lunches to millions of children each school day. These programs are administered by School Food Authorities (SFAs), entities composed of one or more schools that receive reimbursements to serve meals meeting Federal requirements. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted school meal operations and has contributed to lasting supply chain issues affecting the cost and availability of food and labor. To provide the best possible support to States and Child Nutrition Program operators, FNS has increased its engagement with schools and SFAs to collect timely and accurate information regarding current school food challenges. The first School Food Authority Survey on Supply Chain Disruptions was administered by FNS from November 8, 2021, to December 13, 2021, and was published in March 2022 to gather information on the scope of supply chain disruptions during school year (SY) 2021–2022. The School Food Authority Survey II on Supply Chain Disruption and Student Participation was administered by FNS from November 22, 2022, to January 6, 2023, through a 20-minute online questionnaire. The survey was sent to all SFAs operating Child Nutrition Programs in schools to gather information on the impacts of continued supply chain disruptions and the return to standard operations during SY 2022–2023. The response rate for the survey was 75 percent with SFAs from all States and territories responding. The results below were weighted to be nationally representative.

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