{ "id": "R43783", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43783", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 591342, "date": "2019-02-11", "retrieved": "2019-12-20T20:00:09.698197", "title": "School Meals Programs and Other USDA Child Nutrition Programs: A Primer", "summary": "The \u201cchild nutrition programs\u201d refer to the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) programs that provide food for children in school or institutional settings. The best known programs, which serve the largest number of children, are the school meals programs: the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP). The child nutrition programs also include the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which provides meals and snacks in day care and after school settings; the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), which provides food during the summer months; the Special Milk Program (SMP), which supports milk for schools that do not participate in NSLP or SBP; and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), which funds fruit and vegetable snacks in select elementary schools. \nFunding: The vast majority of the child nutrition programs account is considered mandatory spending, with trace amounts of discretionary funding for certain related activities. Referred to as open-ended, \u201cappropriated entitlements,\u201d funding is provided through the annual appropriations process; however, the level of spending is controlled by benefit and eligibility criteria in federal law and dependent on the resulting levels of participation. Federal cash funding (in the form of per-meal reimbursements) and USDA commodity food support is guaranteed to schools and other providers based on the number of meals or snacks served and participant category (e.g., free meals for poor children get higher subsidies). \nParticipation: The child nutrition programs serve children of varying ages and in different institutional settings. The NSLP and SBP have the broadest reach, serving qualifying children of all ages in school settings. Other child nutrition programs serve more-narrow populations. CACFP, for example, provides meals and snacks to children in early childhood and after-school settings among other venues. Programs generally provide some subsidy for all food served but a larger federal reimbursement for food served to children from low-income households.\nAdministration: Responsibility for child nutrition programs is divided between the federal government, states, and localities. The state agency and type of local provider differs by program. In the NSLP and SBP, schools and school districts (\u201cschool food authorities\u201d) administer the program. Meanwhile, SFSP (and sometimes CACFP) uses a model in which sponsor organizations handle administrative responsibilities for a number of sites that serve meals. \nReauthorization: The underlying laws covering the child nutrition programs were last reauthorized in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA, P.L. 111-296, enacted December 13, 2010). This law made significant changes to child nutrition programs, including increasing federal financing for school lunches, expanding access to community eligibility and direct certification options for schools, and expanding eligibility options for home child care providers. The law also required an update to school meal nutrition guidelines as well as new guidelines for food served outside the meal programs (e.g., snacks sold in vending machines and cafeteria a la carte lines). \nCurrent Issues: The 114th Congress began but did not complete a 2016 child nutrition reauthorization, and there was no significant legislative activity with regard to reauthorization in the 115th Congress. However, the vast majority of operations and activities continue with funding provided by appropriations laws. Current issues in the child nutrition programs are discussed in CRS Report R45486, Child Nutrition Programs: Current Issues.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43783", "sha1": "53c03bda8f6fd63977d6425720a8076291f7c92c", "filename": "files/20190211_R43783_53c03bda8f6fd63977d6425720a8076291f7c92c.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43783_files&id=/1.png": "files/20190211_R43783_images_ebf44f9aa725f3ec455b7a4811ba329da455ab15.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43783_files&id=/3.png": "files/20190211_R43783_images_7adba7c5ee2449ca45a57eeab3fbf7c31937452e.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43783_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190211_R43783_images_64724eaf71e392e9a7b8298f9288d5a486ecc94c.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43783_files&id=/2.png": "files/20190211_R43783_images_de4d09c2bae2cfd53f776401e2851c6f62c0dfe0.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43783", "sha1": "24a3a0ba4bdaa04076738d4defbd0b39f67709b0", "filename": "files/20190211_R43783_24a3a0ba4bdaa04076738d4defbd0b39f67709b0.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4811, "name": "School Nutrition & Health" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4856, "name": "Nutrition Programs & Policies" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4917, "name": "Food & Nutrition Assistance" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 585945, "date": "2018-08-24", "retrieved": "2018-10-04T13:55:35.920539", "title": "School Meals Programs and Other USDA Child Nutrition Programs: A Primer", "summary": "The \u201cchild nutrition programs\u201d refer to the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) programs that provide food for children in school or institutional settings. The best known programs, which serve the largest number of children, are the school meals programs: the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP). The child nutrition programs also include the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which provides meals and snacks in day care and after school settings; the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), which provides food during the summer months; the Special Milk Program (SMP), which supports milk for schools that do not participate in NSLP or SBP; and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), which funds fruit and vegetable snacks in select elementary schools. \nFunding: The vast majority of the child nutrition programs account is considered mandatory spending, with trace amounts of discretionary funding for certain related activities. Referred to as open-ended, \u201cappropriated entitlements,\u201d funding is provided through the annual appropriations process; however, the level of spending is controlled by benefit and eligibility criteria in federal law and dependent on the resulting levels of participation. Federal cash funding (in the form of per-meal reimbursements) and USDA commodity food support is guaranteed to schools and other providers based on the number of meals or snacks served and participant category (e.g., free meals for poor children get higher subsidies). \nParticipation: The child nutrition programs serve children of varying ages and in different institutional settings. The NSLP and SBP have the broadest reach, serving qualifying children of all ages in school settings. Other child nutrition programs serve more-narrow populations. CACFP, for example, provides meals and snacks to children in early childhood and after-school settings among other venues. Programs generally provide some subsidy for all food served but a larger federal reimbursement for food served to children from low-income households.\nAdministration: Responsibility for child nutrition programs is divided between the federal government, states, and localities. The state agency and type of local provider differs by program. In the NSLP and SBP, schools and school districts (\u201cschool food authorities\u201d) administer the program. Meanwhile, SFSP (and sometimes CACFP) uses a model in which sponsor organizations handle administrative responsibilities for a number of sites that serve meals. \nReauthorization: The underlying laws covering the child nutrition programs were last reauthorized in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA, P.L. 111-296, enacted December 13, 2010). This law made significant changes to child nutrition programs, including increasing federal financing for school lunches, expanding access to community eligibility and direct certification options for schools, and expanding eligibility options for home child care providers. The law also required an update to school meal nutrition guidelines as well as new guidelines for food served outside the meal programs (e.g., snacks sold in vending machines and cafeteria a la carte lines). \nCurrent Issues: The 114th Congress began but did not complete a 2016 child nutrition reauthorization (see CRS Report R44373, Tracking the Next Child Nutrition Reauthorization: An Overview). As of the date of this report, there has been no significant legislative activity with regard to reauthorization in the 115th Congress. However, the vast majority of operations and activities continue with funding provided by appropriations laws. Current issues in the child nutrition programs for policymakers include the implementation of new and updated nutrition standards, alternatives to the \u201ccongregate feeding\u201d requirement in the SFSP, and schools\u2019 efforts to collect unpaid school meal fees (stigmatizing practices are sometimes called \u201clunch shaming\u201d).", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43783", "sha1": "67a63e0440aa6eaf70deb39b4ae8188fd030a293", "filename": "files/20180824_R43783_67a63e0440aa6eaf70deb39b4ae8188fd030a293.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43783_files&id=/1.png": "files/20180824_R43783_images_ebf44f9aa725f3ec455b7a4811ba329da455ab15.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43783_files&id=/3.png": "files/20180824_R43783_images_7adba7c5ee2449ca45a57eeab3fbf7c31937452e.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43783_files&id=/0.png": "files/20180824_R43783_images_64724eaf71e392e9a7b8298f9288d5a486ecc94c.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43783_files&id=/2.png": "files/20180824_R43783_images_de4d09c2bae2cfd53f776401e2851c6f62c0dfe0.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43783", "sha1": "bf15deff4024430c32abc3f125bfb2a8321561d6", "filename": "files/20180824_R43783_bf15deff4024430c32abc3f125bfb2a8321561d6.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4811, "name": "School Nutrition & Health" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4856, "name": "Nutrition Programs & Policies" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4917, "name": "Food & Nutrition Assistance" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 574909, "date": "2017-10-11", "retrieved": "2017-10-31T13:23:40.830734", "title": "School Meals Programs and Other USDA Child Nutrition Programs: A Primer", "summary": "\u201cChild nutrition programs\u201d is an overarching term used to describe the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) programs that provide food for children in school or institutional settings. The best known programs, which serve the largest number of children, are the school meals programs: the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP). The child nutrition programs also include the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which provides meals and snacks in day care and after school settings; the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), providing food during the summer months; the Special Milk Program (SMP), supporting milk for schools that do not participate in NSLP or SBP; and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), which funds fruit and vegetable snacks in elementary schools. \nThis report presents an overview of the benefits and services these programs and related activities provide as well as participation and funding information. The report emphasizes details for the school meals programs and provides an orientation to the operations of the other programs. \nThe child nutrition programs are largely open-ended, \u201cappropriated entitlements,\u201d meaning that the funding is appropriated through the annual appropriations process, but the level of spending is dependent on participation and the benefit and eligibility rules in federal law. Additionally, recipients of appropriated entitlements may have legal recourse if Congress does not appropriate the necessary funding. Federal cash funding and USDA commodity food support is guaranteed to schools and other providers based on the number of meals or snacks served, who is served (e.g., free meals for poor children get higher subsidies), and legislatively established (and inflation-indexed) per-meal reimbursement (subsidy) rates. In FY2016, federal spending on these programs totaled over $22 billion. The vast majority of the child nutrition programs account is considered mandatory spending, with trace amounts of discretionary funding for certain related activities. \nThe underlying laws covering the child nutrition programs were last reauthorized in 2010 in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA, P.L. 111-296). The 2010 legislation made significant changes in child nutrition programs\u2014including increasing federal financing for school lunches, expanding access to community eligibility and direct certification options for schools, and expanding eligibility options for child care homes. The law required an update to school meal nutrition guidelines as well as new guidelines for food served outside the meal programs (e.g., vending machines and cafeteria a la carte lines). USDA updated the nutrition guidelines for school meals, and these changes have been gradually implemented in school meals. Participating schools are currently subject to USDA rules that add nutrition guidelines for the non-meal foods sold in schools. Further information on the 2010 reauthorization\u2019s provisions can be found in CRS Report R41354, Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization: P.L. 111-296; however, some provisions will be discussed as part of this report\u2019s program overview. \nThe 114th Congress began but did not complete a 2016 child nutrition reauthorization (see CRS Report R44373, Tracking the Next Child Nutrition Reauthorization: An Overview). As of the date of this report, there has been no significant reauthorization activity in the 115th Congress.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43783", "sha1": "5c1a9bbdc0806ac93f4e7a7e68871a6b3e830356", "filename": "files/20171011_R43783_5c1a9bbdc0806ac93f4e7a7e68871a6b3e830356.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43783_files&id=/0.png": "files/20171011_R43783_images_64724eaf71e392e9a7b8298f9288d5a486ecc94c.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43783_files&id=/3.png": "files/20171011_R43783_images_85e949204f4cc65bca72592659034e151d2eab47.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43783_files&id=/4.png": "files/20171011_R43783_images_5c7912c3ad3b1b7854763ce8916a8d77cadb3c4c.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43783_files&id=/1.png": "files/20171011_R43783_images_ebf44f9aa725f3ec455b7a4811ba329da455ab15.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43783_files&id=/2.png": "files/20171011_R43783_images_b50a54ed48ddfaf420799732ca4faafb92fd4efa.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43783", "sha1": "5b9686ab1c3009b453596cb54701c80d95ebdf55", "filename": "files/20171011_R43783_5b9686ab1c3009b453596cb54701c80d95ebdf55.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4811, "name": "School Nutrition & Health" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4856, "name": "Nutrition Programs & Policies" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4917, "name": "Food & Nutrition Assistance" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 450947, "date": "2016-03-15", "retrieved": "2016-03-24T16:53:21.032492", "title": "School Meals Programs and Other USDA Child Nutrition Programs: A Primer", "summary": "\u201cChild nutrition programs\u201d is an overarching term used to describe the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) programs that provide food for children in school or institutional settings. The best known programs, which serve the largest number of children, are the school meals programs: the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP). The child nutrition programs also include the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which provides meals and snacks in day care and after school settings; the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), providing food during the summer months; the Special Milk Program (SMP), supporting milk for schools that do not participate in NSLP or SBP; and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), which funds fruit and vegetable snacks in elementary schools. \nThis report presents an overview of the benefits and services these programs and related activities provide as well as participation and funding information. The report emphasizes details for the school meals programs and provides an orientation to the operations of the other programs. \nThe child nutrition programs are largely open-ended, \u201cappropriated entitlements,\u201d meaning that the funding is appropriated through the annual appropriations process, but the level of spending is dependent on participation and the benefit and eligibility rules in federal law. Additionally, recipients of appropriated entitlements may have legal recourse if Congress does not appropriate the necessary funding. Federal cash funding and USDA commodity food support is guaranteed to schools and other providers based on the number of meals or snacks served, who is served (e.g., free meals for poor children get higher subsidies), and legislatively established (and inflation-indexed) per-meal reimbursement (subsidy) rates. In FY2015, federal spending on these programs totaled over $21 billion. The vast majority of the child nutrition programs account is considered mandatory spending, with trace amounts of discretionary funding for certain related activities. \nThe underlying laws covering the child nutrition programs were last reauthorized in 2010 in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA, P.L. 111-296). The legislation made significant changes in child nutrition programs\u2014including increasing federal financing for school lunches, expanding access to community eligibility and direct certification options for schools, and expanding eligibility options for child care homes. The law required an update to school meal nutrition guidelines as well as new guidelines for food served outside the meal programs (e.g., vending machines and cafeteria a la carte lines). USDA updated the nutrition guidelines for school meals, and these changes have been gradually implemented in school meals. For school year 2014-2015, schools are following USDA rules that add nutrition guidelines for the non-meal foods sold in schools. Further information on the 2010 reauthorization\u2019s provisions can be found in CRS Report R41354, Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization: P.L. 111-296; however, some provisions will be discussed as part of this report\u2019s program overview.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43783", "sha1": "ab93ccb0c67e1e11fe861ae4fa8e7011b6563c8e", "filename": "files/20160315_R43783_ab93ccb0c67e1e11fe861ae4fa8e7011b6563c8e.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43783", "sha1": "b6d53e450a82880246312ebc8d13ad643c94a8e2", "filename": "files/20160315_R43783_b6d53e450a82880246312ebc8d13ad643c94a8e2.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 2651, "name": "Child Well-Being" }, { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4326, "name": "Benefits and Services for Low-Income Households" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc812429/", "id": "R43783_2015May08", "date": "2015-05-08", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "School Meals Programs and Other USDA Child Nutrition Programs: A Primer", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150508_R43783_8bf0d25b5a42543904c94fa8405d9c0db3f97cb1.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150508_R43783_8bf0d25b5a42543904c94fa8405d9c0db3f97cb1.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc812621/", "id": "R43783_2014Nov10", "date": "2014-11-10", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "School Meals Programs and Other USDA Child Nutrition Programs: A Primer", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20141110_R43783_be581c0488502465a8ddc5f18e2ce06e2724af21.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20141110_R43783_be581c0488502465a8ddc5f18e2ce06e2724af21.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "Domestic Social Policy", "Health Policy" ] }