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It’s for the Kids

May 22, 2020 | Economic Justice, Human Rights

Some of the biggest pieces to the hunger safety net are the child nutrition programs. Millions of children eat meals at school through the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. Add to those the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants and Children, and you have a $4.8B system that focuses solely on ensuring children are fed.

There are numerous reasons so much effort centers on children’s nutrition. Children who do not receive adequate and healthy food risk developmental delays, missed days of school, more absences and tardies, and behavioral and physical health issues. These children are also less likely to complete high school and have lower future earnings. Here are the programs and how they work.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP): NSLP and SBP provide meals to Texas children at public and private schools, and institutional facilities. Schools who participate in these programs receive a federal reimbursement for every meal served. These are reimbursed at three different rates: paid, reduced, or free. For a school to participate in NSLP or SBP, they must abide by federal nutritional meal standards, complete “counting and claiming,” (i.e., ensuring all children who choose a reimbursable meal are counted at the rate they qualify for), and adhere to civil rights regulations. In the last decade, much focus has been on improving the nutritional quality of school meals and limiting student access to junk foods in the cafeteria. Today’s school meals offer more fresh fruits and vegetables (including locally grown produce), whole grain bread products, and lean proteins. Some of the issues currently existing in these programs are the lower participation rate in the SBP compared to NSLP, student meal account debt and how it is remedied, and meal acceptability and food waste.

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP): SFSP operates like NSLP and SBP in that the administrator is reimbursed for every eligible meal served. Again, meals must meet federal nutrition requirements and abide by civil rights standards. SFSP is intended to serve kids during the summer months that normally receive NSLP and/or SBP at school. SFSP meals are offered via schools, summer camps, churches, and other summer programs throughout the state in areas where 50% or more of the children qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Unless it is a closed, enrollment-only program like a summer camp, any child 18 and younger can show up to a site to receive a free meal. No income qualifications are necessary. Some of the issues currently existing with SFSP include low participation rates and how to operate the program in rural areas.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP): CACFP is another reimbursable meal program that serves child-care centers and adult activity centers. One important version of CACFP is the CACFP At-Risk Afterschool Meals Program, which provides snacks and/or a third meal (supper) for children at schools and afterschool programs in low-income areas. Some of the issues currently existing with CACFP are the many layers of bureaucracy in operating the program, as well as disagreement on nutrition standards.

The Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC): WIC supports foods, health care, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. Unlike the other federal child nutrition programs, WIC is not an entitlement program. Instead, each state receives a certain amount of funding annually granted by the federal government. Participants in the program have certain foods, aka, the “WIC food package,” that their WIC benefits can purchase at retailers. WIC is like SNAP in that it is loaded monthly on an EBT card. Some of the issues with WIC are its dependence on annual appropriations from Congress and that the benefit only goes up to age 5—creating a gap for kids who don’t start Kindergarten until age 5 ½ or 6.

All these programs are administered at the federal level by the US Department of Agriculture, and at the state level by the Texas Department of Agriculture and Department of State Health Services (for WIC). Although the programs are rarely the target of Congressional cuts, there are opportunities for advocacy when the programs are considered by Congress every five years in the Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill. Moreover, even though the programs are federally funded and mostly governed by federal regulations, there are things advocates can do both at the local community and the state level to ensure that they reach as many kids as possible.

What You Can Do:

  • School Breakfast Program: As mentioned above, the SBP has lower participation rates than NSLP. What this means is that many children who qualify for school lunch are missing out on breakfast. Some may get breakfast at home, but many do not get breakfast at all because they arrive to school late or they associate school breakfast as being “for the poor kids.” You can encourage your school district, if it has not already, to consider alternative breakfast models like Breakfast in the Classroom or Breakfast After the Bell so every kid has access to school breakfast and the stigma is removed.
  • Summer Food Service Program: SFSP, despite its 52-year history, is still not a widely known program. Additionally, program regulations like requiring congregate meals often create barriers to kids being fed. You can work with community partners to do outreach to families on the availability of meals. You can also advocate to Congress to make the program more accessible by adding flexibilities in administration. Note: Currently USDA has allowed SFSP sponsors to serve meals in a non-congregate setting and at school sites during school closures related to the coronavirus. However, these flexibilities may not continue after the pandemic.

For More Information:

There are many advocacy organizations who are great resources on child nutrition programs. These include: