Agency: State Board of Education

Line Item: Child Nutrition

Function

The Child Nutrition Program line item is made up of federal assistance programs that have the purpose of offering high quality, nutritionally well-balanced meals and the development of nutrition awareness among students. The programs offer low cost or free meals to children in public and non-profit private schools. The state contributes to the nutrition programs with revenue generated through the tax on wine and distilled liquor.

Child Nutrition program staff provide technical assistance as requested by participants; develop an annual financial and staffing plan; provide free and reduced price meal policy; interpret state and federal regulations; and perform administrative and nutritional reviews in districts and institutions to assure compliance with state and federal regulations.

The federal child nutrition programs were authorized under the National School Lunch Act of 1946, the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. The programs strive to improve the nutritional well being of children, enabling them to reach their full potential. The following are the primary programs administered by the Child Nutrition Section at USOE, in accordance with USDA regulations:

National School Lunch Program -- Four funding sources contribute to the National School Lunch Program, namely, Federal Funds, State Funds, USDA Commodities and Local Revenue. Commodities include items such as meat, vegetables, cheese, and staples such as flour, oils, etc. This program serves a dual need--support for the agriculture industry and helping the nutritional needs of children.

Meals provided in the schools must meet the nutritional requirements of the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans," published by the USDA and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Guidelines indicate that meals should provide for one-third of a child's daily nutritional requirements. Free and Reduced price lunches are available for children who meet the eligibility requirements detailed in “Free and Reduced Price Lunch Guidelines" below.

National School Breakfast Program -- Schools have the option of participating in the School Breakfast Program. The same eligibility requirements used in determining the need for free or reduced price lunch are used for the breakfast program (see "Free and Reduced Price Lunch Guidelines" below).

Severe Need Breakfast Program -- The Severe Need Breakfast Program aids local schools that have 40 percent or more of their population qualifying for free or reduced price lunches. The program enables these children the opportunity to have at least two nutritionally balanced meals each day. The Child Nutrition Section at the State Office of Education tracks which schools qualify for the program and notifies schools of their eligibility. Federal and local funds are used for the Regular and Severe Need Breakfast Programs.

Special Milk Program -- Children who do not participate in the other nutrition programs, for example, children attending kindergarten, may participate in the Special Milk Program. The federal government provides a reimbursement for each half-pint of milk. Children are charged the difference between the reimbursement and the actual cost. Children not able to pay the difference may receive milk free of charge, in which case the federal reimbursement covers the full cost of the milk.

Summer Food Service Program -- The Summer Food Service Program provides meals on a regular basis when school is not in session. To be eligible, the school must show that 50 percent or more of their students were served free or reduced price meals. Once the need has been demonstrated, then all children who attend the school are eligible to participate in the program. The Summer Food Service Program is entirely federally funded.

Food Distribution Program -- The USDA distributes food to institutions and programs that provide nutritional services to eligible persons. These programs include the National School Lunch Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Food Service Program. Participating agencies enter into an annual agreement to receive commodities.

Emergency Food Assistance Program -- The Emergency Food Assistance Program provides food and federal cash assistance to food banks, pantries and emergency shelters. Foods are distributed through local pantries to individuals in economic distress and for meal services at shelters. The cash assistance helps food banks defray the expense of administration of the program and in the storage and distribution of the food. The state Education Fund appropriation supports state level administrative expenses, including warehouse receipt and some distribution to shelters.

Free and Reduced Price Lunch Guidelines -- Children whose household income is at or below 130 percent of federal poverty guidelines may receive school meals at no charge. Children are entitled to pay a reduced price if their household income is above 130 percent but at or below 185 percent of these guidelines. Children are automatically eligible for free school meals if their household receives food stamps, benefits under the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations or, in most cases, benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

All income actually received by the household is counted in determining eligibility for free and reduced price meals. This includes salary, public assistance benefits, social security payments, pensions, unemployment compensation, etc. The only exceptions are benefits under Federal programs which, by law, are excluded from consideration. These can include: in-kind benefits, such as military on-base housing; certain kinds of assistance for students; and irregular income from occasional small jobs such as baby-sitting or lawn mowing.

Statutory Authority

As federal assistance programs, little statutory language exists in Utah code defining the Child Nutrition Programs detailed above.

• UCA 53A-19-201 -- Places the control of federal school lunch revenues with the State Board of Education. The statute also details the usage of school lunch funds, revenue apportionment, and reporting requirements.

Funding Detail

As shown in the following table, the majority of Child Nutrition revenue comes from the federal government. The State supports the school lunch programs by assessing a tax on liquor and wine. This tax, shown in the table as dedicated credits revenue, provides for approximately 18 percent of the Child Nutrition program.

Approximately 98 percent of the total revenue generated for the program gets passed on to local school districts. The remaining two percent supports the Child Nutrition division at the State Office of Education.