Race and Ethnicity Data for School Meal Programs
The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) REQUIRE all School Meal Program Sponsors to collect race and ethnicity data of applicants and participants.
The purpose of collecting racial and ethnic data is to determine how effectively School Meal Programs are reaching potentially eligible students.
Provision of this data is voluntary and responses are kept confidential and have no effect on eligibility.