The Commodity Donation Program of 1936 marked the first time the government became significantly involved in school lunches. Because crop surpluses are harmful to respective commodity prices, the act attempted to eliminate them by allotting excesses, in the form of lunches, to underprivileged school children1. However, many school boards did not espouse the program. They were unwilling to invest in equipment and expansion for a program that was not certain to continue. Additionally, food donation from the government fluctuated with commodity surpluses2. So the 79th Congress considered a legislative proposal to make the Commodity Donation Program permanent. It was signed into law as the National School Lunch Bill1.

1. SuperDuperNutrition.com
The Birth of the School
Lunch Program

2. SuperDuperNutrition.com
The Commodity Donation Program of 1936 marked the first time the government
became significantly involved in school lunches. Because crop surpluses are
harmful to respective commodity prices, the act attempted to eliminate them by
allotting excesses, in the form of lunches, to underprivileged school
children1
. However, many school boards did not espouse the program. They were
unwilling to invest in equipment and expansion for a program that was not certain
to continue. Additionally, food donation from the government fluctuated with
commodity surpluses2
. So the 79th
Congress considered a legislative proposal to
make the Commodity Donation Program permanent. It was signed into law as the
National School Lunch Bill1
.
This new law required Congress to appropriate funds each year to pay for school
lunches for low income children to be distributed to each state. Of these funds, a
portion supported districts’ purchase of foodservice related equipment and
administrative costs associated with program operation. Since the passing of the
original legislation, a number of amendments have been added2
. Yet the School
Lunch Program has remained unchanged for more than a decade until recently
when President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act which created
new standards for school meals. These new standards are meant to be better align
school meals with modern principles of food and nutrition and practical aspects
and challenges of schools3
.
Eligibility requirements
The federal government provides free and reduced lunch, breakfast, milk and
summer meal programs based on income. Standards of eligibility run from July 1-
June 30 of each year and are based on the Federal Income Poverty
Guidelines. Families of school-age children are eligible for reduced lunches (and
other meals) if their total household income is 185%, or less, of the poverty
guidelines for their household size. For example, a family of five qualifies for
reduced meals if their household income is under $52,559 annually. Qualification
for free lunch occurs at 130% of the poverty guidelines, so the same family of five
would qualify at or below an income of $36,933 annually. Eligibility is the same
in all 48 contiguous states. However, there is a somewhat higher poverty standard
for Alaska and Hawaii of approximately $1000 per household and $600 per
household member4
.

3. SuperDuperNutrition.com
Application Process
All schools send out applications for free or reduced lunch at the start of the year to
each household. Families can obtain an application at any time from the school
throughout the year. Once completed and returned to the school, the application is
then reviewed to determine eligibility as established by the current Income
Eligibility Guidelines. All applicants currently receiving Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are automatically qualified for free lunches
and children of parents receiving unemployment benefits are often eligible as
well5
.
Parents who complete an application must provide four categories of
information. First is household composition. Parents list children if they are in
school (regardless of age) and receive financial support by the applicant. This also
includes foster children. Second is participation in other assistance
programs. These may include SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) and
associated identification information. Thirdly is household income, meaning all
monies that support the family including public assistance, child support, alimony
and child income. Fourth is contact information and signature5
.
Funding the School Lunch Program
For the fiscal year 2012, the national school lunch program cost $11.6 billion. As
might be expected, the cost of the program has substantially increased since its
inception. This is in part due to the increase in participation, but also inflationary
factors. In its first year, the program included 7.1 million participants. This at a
cost of $70 million, whereas today there are nearly 36 million students that
participate in the National School Lunch Program. The following chart and graph
show the increase in participation and costs for the program over the decades to the
present6,7
:

4. SuperDuperNutrition.com
Program Effectiveness
There is a great deal of literature whose purpose is to examine the success of the
National School Lunch Program. Despite this, effectiveness in providing quality
nutrition to pupils is still not conclusive8
. For instance, one study found
that vitamin intake for NSLP participants was positive for several nutrients,
although not vitamin C. These meals also proved higher in fat and saturated fat
than meals of non-participants9
. Another study that analyzed school lunches and
non-school lunches among kindergarteners found a similar result. School lunches
were superior in some nutrient content, but not others. Also, studies often do not
measure what students actually consume. They are also often limited in
geographic scope and utilize varying methodologies8,10
.
A recent update to the USDA standards for school lunches includes healthier meals
for students, but has not proven effective. Although the meals include historically

5. SuperDuperNutrition.com
superior nutritional content, students largely resist the changes. More than 1
million students have stopped taking school lunch as a result of these
changes 11
. Despite this setback, the program continues to provide nutritious
lunches to millions of under-privileged children. Most of these kids would
otherwise secure inferior alternatives or nothing at all.
My Personal Assessment of the School Lunch Program
It is clear that the National School Lunch Program’s main objective is to provide
nutritious lunches to those that cannot otherwise afford them1
. Presumably, the
implied requirements for this objective to occur are, one, that children are actually
consuming these lunches in their entirety and two, that the program is sustainable.
It is evident that many children are unhappy with school lunches, especially
recently. This is a bit ironic since they don’t receive the nutrition the program is
meant to provide because they refuse to eat the food. Although not directly
applicable to the effectiveness of the NSLP, this trend also contributes to
significant food waste11
. Although these may not be failures of the program itself,
they are failures to meet the program’s objective. Providing non-ideal lunch
options that school children will actually eat is far better than superior foods that
they will not.
Additionally, the cost of the NSLP has significantly increased over time and has
presumably become less and less cost-efficient. Cost increases per student have
risen some 40-fold since its inception (inflation adjusted; see chart above). Thus
an honest thinker must question the sustainability of the program. This is
particularly true under the assumption that the future will bring similar
results. The high cost of the NSLP coupled with the uncertainty of its real
effectiveness, ought to compel those in power to consider significant changes in its
operation, such as requiring school districts to create their own lunch programs or
giving states the power to determine its administration themselves. Shifting the
burden to the free market is also a possible solution. For example, delivery
services or outside vendor food services would likely prove more cost-effective
and attractive to students12
.
References
1. Febp.newamerica.net. Background & Analysis. 2015. Available at:
http://febp.newamerica.net/background-analysis/federal-school-nutrition-
programs. Accessed April 4, 2015.

6. SuperDuperNutrition.com
2. Fns.usda.gov. National School Lunch Act | Food and Nutrition Service.
2015. Available at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/history_5. Accessed April
4, 2015.
3. Fns.usda.gov. School Meals. 2015. Available at:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/n. Accessed April 4, 2015.
4. Federal Register. 1st ed. Department of Agriculture; 2015. Available at:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-31/pdf/2015-07358.pdf.
Accessed April 19, 2015.
5. Fns.usda.gov. Applying for Free and Reduced Price School Meals | Food and
Nutrition Service. 2015. Available at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-
meals/applying-free-and-reduced-price-school-meals. Accessed April 19,
2015.
6. Fns.usda.gov. Applying for Free and Reduced Price School Meals | Food and
Nutrition Service. 2015. Available at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-
meals/applying-free-and-reduced-price-school-meals. Accessed April 19,
2015.
7. Data.bls.gov. CPI Inflation Calculator. 2015. Available at:
http://data.bls.gov/cgi-
bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=11600&year1=2012&year2=2015. Accessed June 1,
2015.
8. Campbell B, Nayga R, Park J, Silva A. Does the National School Lunch
Program Improve Children’s Dietary Outcomes?. American Journal of
Agricultural Economics. 2011;93(4):1099-1130. doi:10.1093/ajae/aar031.
9. Phillip G, Suitor C. Eating at School: How the National School Lunch
Program Affects Children’s Diets. American Journal of Agricultural
Economics. 2003;85(4):1047-1061.
10.Just D, Wansink B. A better way to market school lunch program. USA
Today. 2014.
11.Harrington E. 1M kids stop school lunch due to Michelle Obama’s
standards. The Washington Times. 2014.
12.Winzelberg D. How One Company Crafted An Alternative To Bad School
Lunch. Forbescom. 2013. Available at:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ups/2013/08/22/how-one-company-crafted-an-
alternative-to-bad-school-lunch/. Accessed May 23, 2015.