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Updated July 15, 2024
Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR): An Overview
Introduction
Provision, an option within NSLP/SBP that allows eligible
Child nutrition reauthorization (CNR) refers to Congress’s
schools to provide free meals to all students. The law also
process of making changes to the permanent statutes that
required USDA to update the nutrition standards for school
authorize the child nutrition programs, the Special
meals and establish nutrition standards for other foods sold
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
in schools during the school day. For WIC, the law included
Children (WIC), and related activities:
the requirement that states transition, by October 1, 2020,
from their primarily paper voucher-based WIC benefits to
• the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act,
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT). In some cases, the new
• the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, and
policies were described within the statute; in other cases,
• (less often) Section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935,
the details were laid out in USDA-promulgated regulations.
which transfers funds to the child nutrition programs
Reauthorization Efforts
annually.
During the 117th Congress, the House Education and Labor
The most recent CNR was the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids
Committee reported a CNR bill (H.R. 8450) out of
Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-296). Some of the authorities created
committee. The Congress ended without further action on
or extended in that law expired on September 30, 2015.
the bill. Also during the 117th Congress, a permanent
However, the vast majority of program operations have
Summer EBT program was enacted in the FY2023
continued with funding provided by appropriations acts.
appropriations act (P.L. 117-328). Previously, during the
Programs Typically Included in CNR
114th Congress the committees exercising jurisdiction
reported CNR bills but reauthorization was not completed
CNR typically includes WIC, the WIC Farmers’ Market
(see CRS Report R44373, Tracking Child Nutrition
Nutrition Program (FMNP), and the following child
Reauthorization in the 114th Congress: An Overview).
nutrition programs:
•
Categorization of Programs’ Funding
National School Lunch Program (NSLP);
•
Most of the WIC and child nutrition programs’ funding
School Breakfast Program (SBP);
•
requires annual appropriations:
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP);
•
•
Most child nutrition program funding is appropriated
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP); and
•
mandatory spending based on formulas and criteria in
Special Milk Program (SMP).
the authorizing laws (e.g., the programs’ per-meal
CNR also covers a number of smaller grant programs and
reimbursements).
support activities, such as the Farm to School Grant
• Some smaller child nutrition grants and activities
Program and funding for states’ administrative expenses
(e.g., Team Nutrition) are funded with discretionary
associated with operating certain programs.
appropriations.
Table 1 provides a short description of each of the major
• WIC and WIC FMNP funds are discretionary.
programs typically included in CNR.
Have the Programs Expired?
Related Policies in the Farm Bill
Many child nutrition programs are permanently authorized
The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), authorized
and have permanent authorizations of appropriations (they
in the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, has
have no expiration date). This is the case for the main
been amended by both CNR and farm bills, including the
functions of NSLP, SBP, CACFP, and SMP.
2004 CNR and farm bills in 2008 and 2014. The 2010 CNR
and the 2018 farm bill did not amend FFVP.
In other cases—such as SFSP, WIC, WIC FMNP, and
funding for states’ administrative expenses—the authority
In addition, farm bills sometimes include provisions related
for the programs themselves is permanent, but their
to food purchasing and distribution in child nutrition
authorizations of appropriations expired on September 30,
programs. The 2018 farm bill (P.L. 115-334), the most
2015. In such cases, the programs and activities may still
recent farm bill, extended funding for USDA’s purchase of
operate if funding is provided in appropriations acts, which
fresh fruits and vegetables for child nutrition programs and
has been the case in each of FY2016 through FY2024.
required USDA to enforce “Buy American” (domestic
purchasing) rules for schools participating in NSLP/SBP.
A few pilot programs and activities expired on September
30, 2015, and were not always extended. A California
Last Reauthorization
program to provide SFSP snacks year-round was not
extended. USDA’s authority to conduct food safety audits
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-296)
and funding for a National Hunger Clearinghouse was not
included a number of new and revised policies. For
example, the law created the Community Eligibility
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extended in FY2016 but was subsequently extended by
appropriations acts in each of FY2017 through FY2024.
Table 1. Child Nutrition and WIC Programs at a Glance
FY2023
FY2023
Authorizing Statute
Expenditures
Participation
(year first
(exceptions
(exceptions
Program
authorized)
Description
noted)
noted)
National School Lunch Richard B. Russell
Provides federal reimbursements for lunches $17.3 bil ion
28.6 mil ion
Program (NSLP)
National School Lunch
served in participating pre-K-12 schools.
children (daily
Act (1946)
Options for schools to provide afterschool
average)a
snacks and summer lunches.
School Breakfast
Child Nutrition Act
Provides reimbursements for breakfasts
$5.3 bil ion
14.7 mil ion
Program (SBP)
(1966)
served in participating schools. Option for
children (daily
schools to provide summer breakfasts.
average)a
Child and Adult Care
Richard B. Russell
Provides reimbursements for meals and
$3.9 bil ion
4.6 mil ion
Food Program (CACFP) National School Lunch
snacks in child care centers, day care homes,
children and
Act (1968)
and adult day care centers. Rules and funding
109,600 older
differ based on type of institution.
adults (daily
average)a
Summer Food Service
Richard B. Russell
Provides reimbursements for meals and
$516.5 million
2.2 mil ion
Program (SFSP)
National School Lunch
snacks served by nonprofit organizations and
children (daily
Act (1968)
schools during the summer months. Eligibility
average)a
rules vary by type of meal site and site
location.
Special Milk Program
Child Nutrition Act
Provides reimbursements for milk in schools $5.1 mil ion
78,700 half-pints
(SMP)
(1954)
and institutions that do not participate in
served on average
other child nutrition programs.
dailyb
Special Supplemental
Child Nutrition Act
Provides benefits redeemable for
$7.03 bil ion
6.6 mil ion
Nutrition Program for
(1974)
supplemental foods as well as nutrition
(FY2024
recipients
Women, Infants, and
counseling and breastfeeding support to
appropriations)c (monthly average)
Children (WIC)
pregnant/breastfeeding/postpartum women,
infants, and children (under five years old).
WIC Farmers’ Market
Child Nutrition Act
Provides vouchers for WIC participants to
$10.0 mil ion
1.3 mil ion
Nutrition Program
(1992)
redeem at farmers’ markets.
(FY2024
recipients total
(WIC FMNP)
appropriations)
(FY2022)
Fresh Fruit and
Richard B. Russell
Provides funding for fresh fruit and vegetable $238.0 mil ion
Not available
Vegetable Program
National School Lunch
snacks in elementary schools, with priority for (FY2023 allocation
(FFVP)
Act (2002)
low-income schools.
to states)d
Source: Except as noted, FY2023 participation and spending data from USDA-FNS March 2024 Keydata Report. WIC and WIC FMNP FY2022
appropriations from P.L. 118-42.
a. Average daily participation is estimated by USDA based on the number of meals served.
b. Estimated by CRS based on the average number of half pints served per month divided by an estimated 20 operating days per month.
c. Division A, Title VII, Section 729 of P.L. 117-328 also rescinded approximately $315 mil ion in specified prior-year carryover funding.
d. USDA-FNS, “FFVP: Al ocation of Funds for Fiscal Year 2023,” SP 12-2022, June 23, 2022.
CRS Reports for Further Information
CRS Report R45486, Child Nutrition Programs: Issues in
CRS Report R42353, Domestic Food Assistance: Summary
the 115th Congress
of Programs
CRS Report R44373, Tracking Child Nutrition
CRS Report R46681, USDA Nutrition Assistance
Reauthorization in the 114th Congress: An Overview
Programs: Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
CRS Report R41354, Child Nutrition and WIC
CRS Report R46234, School Meals and Other Child
Reauthorization: P.L. 111-296
Nutrition Programs: Background and Funding
Kara Clifford Billings, Analyst in Social Policy
CRS Report R44115, A Primer on WIC: The Special
Randy Alison Aussenberg, Specialist in Nutrition
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
Assistance Policy
Children
IF10266
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR): An Overview
Disclaimer
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