Lunch Programs Compared

A look at how Republican-sponsored legislation passed by the House would change the national school lunch program:

How program works now:

All children at public and non-profit private schools are entitled to federally subsidized school lunches, with the subsidy varying by family income. Congress authorized $4.8 billion in subsidies and donated food this year.

How it would change:

States would get block grants from Washington, increasing 4.5 percent a year, for range of school nutrition programs, and take main responsibility for running them. Universal entitlement to subsidized school lunch would end.

Now:

Washington helps feed 25.3 million children a day. Of those, 12.2 million eat free, 1.8 million pay up to 40 cents a lunch and 11.3 million pay the highest price - still less than the meal is worth.

For each lunch served, Washington reimburses school almost $1.76 for student qualifying for free meal, almost $1.36 for student qualifying for reduced price meal, and 17 cents for all other children.

Change:

States could shift some grant money to certain other programs. But 80 percent of would have to be spent to give poor children free or cheap meals. States would decide whether to subsidize meals for middle-income and wealthy children, and by how much.

Now:

Apart from sending money, Washington donates food in two ways, supplying an average of 20 percent of schools’ food needs. Federal government gives 14.5 cents’ worth of food to schools for each meal served. Second, Washington periodically buys commodities when farmers have large national surpluses, and gives that food to schools as bonus. Of the program’s $4.8 billion cost, $645 million is from donated food.

Change:

Nine percent of block grants would be in form of federally donated food. Surplus commodities bought by Washington would no longer be given away, but sold.