Fiscal Year 2023 USDA Nutrition Education Coordination Report to Congress

In fiscal year (FY) 2023, USDA nutrition assistance programs reached tens of millions of Americans, including through more than 42 million Americans participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more than 4.6 billion school lunches served as part of the USDA National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and monthly benefits provided to approximately 6.6 million participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Nutrition education is a complement to the USDA nutrition assistance programs that are administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). Federally funded nutrition education is based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. FNS does not maintain a comprehensive definition of nutrition education and recognizes the numerous strategies and tools available to providers and partners that can influence individual and collective nutrition behaviors. FNS allocates funding and administers programs that include nutrition education activities as described in statute. In addition, USDA maintains flexible policies to foster relevant nutrition education approaches.