{
  "id": "R40397",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R40397",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 385763,
      "date": "2009-03-12",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T02:40:39.193634",
      "title": "Child Nutrition and WIC Programs: A Brief Overview",
      "summary": "Federally supported child nutrition programs and initiatives, along with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (the WIC program) reach more than 40 million children and some 2 million lower-income pregnant/post-partum women. In FY2007, federal spending on these programs totaled over $19 billion.\nThe basic goals of federal child nutrition programs are to improve children\u2019s nutrition, increase lower-income children\u2019s access to nutritious meals and snacks, and help support the agricultural economy. Child nutrition programs are \u201centitlements.\u201d Federal cash funding and commodity support is \u201cguaranteed\u201d to schools and other providers based on the number of meals/snacks served, who is served (e.g., free meals for poor children get higher subsidies), and legislatively established (and inflation-indexed) per-meal subsidy rates. On the other hand, the WIC program is a \u201cdiscretionary\u201d grant program where specific annual appropriations to pay for benefits and nutrition services and administration are distributed by formula.\nIn addition to the WIC program (and its ancillary farmers\u2019 market program), the child nutrition programs covered in this report include the School Lunch and Breakfast programs (providing federal subsidies for meals served in schools), day-care, summer and other outside-of-school programs assisting sponsors in providing meals/snacks, and payments to states covering administrative oversight costs, expenses for a Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program, the Special Milk program, and various support activities (e.g., various administrative oversight and nutrition education activities).\nThe underlying laws covering child nutrition and WIC programs were last reauthorized in 2004 in the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act (P.L. 108-265). The next reauthorization is scheduled for 2009. The Administration\u2019s FY2010 budget calls for increased funding of approximately $1 billion a year for child nutrition programs (for \u201cprogram reforms aimed at improving program access, enhancing the nutritional quality of school meals, expanding nutrition research and evaluation, and improving program oversight\u201d).\nThis report will be updated as warranted by significant changes in the programs covered and major legislative initiatives.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations"
  ]
}