The stated purpose of the act was, and is today, "as a measure of national security, to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation's children...".
The NSLP is the largest of the federal child nutrition programs. It provides hot lunches to 26 million children each school day. Approximately half are poor children receiving a free or reduced price meal, half are non-poor children who pay the "full" price as set by local school officials.
Children from families with income below 130% of the poverty line receive a free lunch. Children with family income between 130% and 185% of the poverty line can purchase a reduced price lunch.
The NSLP is entitlement by nature, which means local schools are entitled, by law, to a fixed federal reimbursement for each school lunch served consistent with USDA nutrition guidelines. The guidelines protect meal quality while commodity donations help the farmer and help schools keep down meal prices. Its multiple goals are a strength of the Program.
The donation of surplus commodities to schools, which began on a limited basis in 1932, was part of Federal relief efforts to relieve farmers and promote agriculture. Schools essentially served as outlets for farm commodities purchased by the USDA to lessen price-depressing surpluses. They also offered public service employment in a country with nearly 13 million (or just under 25%) of its workforce unemployed. Thus although feeding children at school was supported, it was largely incidental to farm and job relief efforts.
As the economy improved and the country faced the needs of war, Federal relief activities subsided. Expended wartime agricultural markets, food shortages, and transportation difficulties diminished Government acquisitions and donations of commodities to schools. As a result, it became evident that USDA commodities were not a reliable form of support for school lunch programs, and pressure rose for other, more dependable, forms of Federal food assistance. The pressure came from a growing number of schools operating lunch programs, as well as from others concerned about balanced diets and good nutrition. In response, Congress appropriated sums from agricultural support funds to subsidize local purchase of foods so as to offset the diminished donations of surplus commodities.
Until 1970, commodities and milk support continued to make up the major portion of total Federal support provided for school food programs. However, with the imposition of performance funding and the establishment of substantially higher cash reimbursements for free and reduced-price meals than for paid meals, Federal cash assistance overtook commodity aid to child nutrition that year.
In subsequent years, cash aid for child nutrition continued to increase with the growth and addition of programs (e.g., WIC and the School Breakfast Program) primarily targeted to the needy and the indexation of benefits and income eligibility criteria.
