Do the School Nutrition Programs Supplement Household Food Expenditures?

The extent to which the school nutrition programs-the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP)-supplement household food expenditures is an important indication of whether the objectives of the programs are being met. Using data from the National Evaluation of School Nutrition Programs and a bivariate selection model, this paper obtains estimates of such supplementation. I find that somewhat less than one-half of each additional dollar of NSLP benefits is used by households to supplement food expenditures, while all of each additional dollar of SBP benefits is allocated to such expenditures.