1. The Child Nutrition Commodity Program

By coordinating "the distribution of commodities" to more than 94,000 schools, this USDA-run program supports "American agricultural producers by providing cash reimbursements for meals served in schools and other child nutrition institutions."

However, the majority of foods purchased by schools through this program tend to be animal products: in California, for example, more than 82 percent of school money spent on commodities went to meat and cheese items, according to a California Food Policy Advocates study, which added: "Nationally, over 50 percent (55 percent in California) of commodity foods are sent to processors before they are delivered to school districts. Processing, which may add fat, sugar and sodium to foods, is unregulated for nutritional quality."

Not encouraging. Neither are the recipes provided by the USDA that use commodity foods. They are not particularly health-conscious—and while the agency did not write them, the selection says a lot about the priority of nutrition vs. using commodity foods. The "Meat/Meat Alternates" section, for example, includes Beef Empanadas, Hot Roast Pork Sandwich, Pork Barbecue, Pork Cacciatore, Stir-Fried Pork—the only two non-meat options are the Chilies Relleno Casserole (primary ingredient: cheese) and Peanut Butter Pixies/BonBons (half peanut butter and half a margarine-powdered sugar-"prepared chocolate frosting" blend). Not a model for building a health menu.