Summary: The Agriculture Department's (USDA) Team Nutrition initiative seeks to improve the nutrition and health education of American school children by providing (1) a program to help school food service workers provide lunches that are nutritious and appealing and (2) a multimedia nutrition education campaign to promote healthy food choices among schoolchildren. The Team Nutrition contracts, cooperative agreement, grant, and personnel management practices GAO reviewed exhibited a pattern of poor management and, in some cases, violated federal law and ethics regulations. Among other things, GAO discovered tasks assigned that were beyond the scope of the contract, unauthorized persons providing direction to a contractor, and inattention to the agency's obligations under the terms of the cooperative agreement. GAO also raises concerns about the manner in which the position of the former Team Nutrition Project Manager was filled and the salary set. GAO attributes many of these problems to a failure to adhere to the agency's procedures and the lack of a documented strategic plan for the initiative. USDA has acknowledged and is trying to address some of the weaknesses GAO identified, but it is too early to know whether its actions will be successful.
