Food Assistance

Under the existing lunch and breakfast programs, the federal government pays schools a nationally established subsidy for each meal served to reduce the cost to students. The programs require that meals be provided free, or at a greatly reduced price, to poor children. Reimbursement rates differ depending on the income of the students' families. Schools are required to determine and verify students' eligibility and must keep accurate records of meals served to all students to support their claims for federal reimbursement. To reduce this administrative burden and to boost student participation, Congress encouraged the Agriculture Department (USDA) to explore alternatives to the administrative requirements of the current program. The result was USDA's no-fee school pilot program. This testimony discusses the (1) differences between the no-fee pilot program and the traditional school meal programs, (2) different approaches used by the four school food authorities participating in the pilot program, and (3) results being obtained in terms of administrative costs and workloads, student participation, and federal costs.