SCHOOL MILK AND SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAMS

TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 1966

U.S. SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY,

Washington, D.C.

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:10 a.m., in room 324, Old Senate Office Building, Senator Allen J. Ellender (chairman) presiding.

Present: Senators Ellender (presiding), Holland, Talmadge, Montoya, Aiken, Young of North Dakota, and Boggs.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will please come to order.

We are conducting hearings this morning on an amendment to the National School Lunch Act as contained in S. 3467.

I wish to say that this is an administration bill that was sent to me as chairman. I looked it over for some time. Before I introduced it I suggested certain changes which were made. I am very hopeful that the members of this committee will take note of the changes suggested by me.

I would like to say for the record that the bill before the committee today is different from the original Child Nutrition Act of 1966 that was forwarded to the committee. The original Child Nutrition Act would have completely superseded and revised the National School Lunch Act.

The present bill, S. 3467, makes no changes in the school luncht program or in the special milk program except that the latter would be made part of the School Lunch Act. This bill is in line with suggestions that I made to the Secretary of Agriculture. It would add provisions to the National School Lunch Act:

(1) A 3-year extension of the special milk program·

(2) A pilot breakfast program in schools drawing attendance from poor economic areas and in schools to which the children must travel long distances for fiscal years 1967, 1968, 1969;

(3) A permanent program for nonfood assistance to schools drawing attendance from areas in which poor economic conditions exist; and

(4) Extension of the school-feeding program to include preschool programs operated as part of the school system.

I might add that while this bill requires that all new feeding programs take place in schools, the original Child Nutrition Act would have extended the feeding programs to places outside of school.

1

(S. 3467 and staff explanation are as follows:)

[S. 3467, 89th Cong., 2d sess.]

A BILL To amend the National School Lunch Act, as amended, to strengthen and expand food service programs for children.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the National School Lunch Act, as amended. is amended

(A) By inserting in section 3 before the period at the end thereof the following phrase: "and other than sections 13 through 15."

(B) By inserting in section 6 after the word "Act" where it first occurs the following: "(other than sections 13 through 15).”

(C) By adding at the end of subsection (d) of section 12, the following new paragraph:

"(8) Nonprofit institution' means any public or private institution, except a school or other educational institution of higher learning, which provides for the care and training of children and no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual."

(D) By adding at the end of the Act the following new sections:

"SPECIAL MILK PROGRAM
"AUTHORIZATION

"SEC. 13. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1967, and each fiscal year thereafter during the period ending June 30, 1970, such sums as may be necessary, but not in excess of $100,000,000 for any fiscal year, to enable the Secretary of Agriculture, under such rules and regulations as he may deem in the public interest, to encourage consumption of fluid milk by children in the United States in (1) nonprofit schools of high school grade and under, and (2) nonprofit nursery schools, child-care centers, settlement houses, summer camps, and similar nonprofit institutions devoted to the care and training of children. For the purposes of this section 'United States' means the fifty States and the District of Columbia.

"SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM

"AUTHORIZATION

"SEC. 14. (a) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for each of the fiscal years ending June 30, 1967, 1968, and 1969 such sums as may be necessary to enable the Secretary to formulate and carry out a pilot program to assist States through grants-in-aid and other means, to initiate, maintain or expand nonprofit breakfast programs in schools drawing attendance from areas in which poor economic conditions exist and in schools to which a substantial proportion of the children enrolled must travel long distances.

"APPORTIONMENT TO STATES

"(b) Of the funds appropriated for the purposes of this section for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve 3 per centum for apportionment to Guam, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa. Such funds shall be apportioned among such States on the basis of the ratio of the number of children of ages five through seventeen in each such State to the number of all children of ages five through seventeen in all such States.

"(c) Of the remainder of the funds appropriated, the Secretary shall for each fiscal year, (1) apportion the first $2,500,000 equally among the States, other than Guam, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa, and (2) apportion the remainder among such States on the basis of the ratio of the number of children in each State of ages five through seventeen in families with incomes of less than $2,000 per annum plus the number of children of ages five through seventeen in families receiving more than $2,000 per annum from payments under the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare's program of aid to families with dependent children to the total number of such children in the fifty States and the District of Columbia.

"STATE DISBURSEMENT TO SCHOOLS

"(d) Funds apportioned and paid to any State for the purpose of this section shall be disbursed by the State educational agency to schools selected by the State educational agency, to reimburse such schools for the cost of obtaining agricultural and other foods for consumption by needy children in a breakfast program and for the purpose of subsection (e). Such food costs may include, in addition to the purchase price, the cost of processing, distributing, transporting, storing, and handling. Disbursement to schools shall be made at such rates per meal or on such other basis as the Secretary shall prescribe. In selecting schools, the State educational agency shall, to the extent practicable, give first consideration to those schools drawing attendance from areas in which poor economic conditions exist.

"(e) In circumstances of severe need where the rate per meal established by the Secretary is deemed by him insufficient to carry on an effective breakfast program in a school, the Secretary may authorize financial assistance up to 90 per centum of the operating costs of such a program, including cost of obtaining, preparing, and serving food.

"NUTRITIONAL AND OTHER PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

"(f) Breakfasts served by schools participating in the school breakfast program under this section shall consist of a combination of foods and shall meet minimum nutritional requirements prescribed by the Secretary on the basis of tested nutritional research. Such breakfasts shall be served without cost or at a reduced cost to children who are determined by local school authorities to be unable to pay the full cost of the breakfast. In making such determinations, such local authorities should, to the extent practicable, consult with public welfare and health agencies. No physical segregation of or other discrimination against any child shall be made by the school because of his inability to pay.

"NONPROFIT PRIVATE SCHOOLS

"(g) If in any State the State educational agency is not permitted by law to disburse the funds paid to it under this section to nonprofit private schools, the Secretary shall withhold from the funds apportioned to any such State under subsections (b) and (c) of this section an amount based on the ratio of the number of children enrolled in nonprofit private schools within the State to the total number of children enrolled in all schools within the State. The Secretary shall disburse the funds so withheld directly to the nonprofit private schools within such State for the same purposes and subject to the same conditions as are required of a State educational agency disbursing funds made available under this

section.

"NONFOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

"AUTHORIZATION

"SEC. 15. (a) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1968, and for each fiscal year thereafter such sums as may be necessary to enable the Secretary to formulate and carry out a program to assist the States through grants-in-aid and other means to supply schools drawing attendance from areas in which poor economic conditions exist with facilities other than land and buildings, for the storage, preparation, transportation, and serving of food to enable such schools to establish, maintain, and expand school food service programs.

"APPORTIONMENTS TO STATES

"(b) The Secretary shall apportion the funds appropriated for the purposes of this section among the States during each fiscal year on the same basis as apportionments are made under section 4 of this Act for supplying agricultural and other foods, except that apportionment to American Samoa for any fiscal year shall be on the same basis as the apportionment to the other States. Payments to any State of funds apportioned for any fiscal year shall be made upon condition that one-fourth of the cost of any facilities financed under this subsection shall be borne by State or local funds.

"STATE DISBURSEMENT TO SCHOOLS

"(c) Funds apportioned and paid to any State for the purpose of this section shall be disbursed by the State educational agency to assist schools, which draw attendance from areas in which poor economic conditions exist and which have no, or grossly inadequate, facilities, to conduct a school food service program, and to acquire such facilities. Disbursements to any school may be made, by advances or reimbursements, only after approval by the State educational agency of a request by the school for funds, accompanied by a detailed description of the facilities to be acquired and the plans for the use thereof in effectively meeting the nutritional needs of children in the school.

"NONPROFIT PRIVATE SCHOOLS

"(d) If in any State the State educational agency is not permitted by law to disburse the funds paid to it under this section to nonprofit private schools in the State, the Secretary shall withhold from the funds apportioned to such State under subsection (b) an amount which bears the same ratio to such funds as the number of lunches, consisting of a combination of foods and meeting the minimum requirements prescribed by the Secretary under section 9 of this Act served in the preceding fiscal year by all nonprofit private schools participating in the program under section 2 within the State, as determined by the Secretary, bears to the participation rate for the State. The Secretary shall disburse the funds so withheld directly to the nonprofit private schools within such State for the same purposes and subject to the same conditions as are required of a State educational agency disbursing funds made available under this section.

"PAYMENTS TO STATES

"SEC. 16. The Secretary shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury from time to time the amounts to be paid to any State under section 13 through 17 of this Act and the time or times such amounts are to be paid; and the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay to the State at the time or times fixed by the Secretary the amounts so certified.

"STATE ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

"SEC. 17. The Secretary may utilize not to exceed 11⁄2 per centum of the total funds appropriated under this Act for any fiscal year for advances to each State educational agency for use for its administrative expenses in carrying out programs under this Act: Provided, That no such agency shall receive a sum greater than 1 per cenum of the funds apportioned to it under this Act, or $7,500, whichever is greater. The amount of such payments shall be deducted from such appropriated funds prior to any apportionment thereof under this Act.

"SELECTION OF SCHOOLS

"SEC. 18. In the selection of schools and nonprofit institutions to receive Federal assistance under sections 13, 14, and 15 of this Act, the State agency shall adopt the methods and procedures necessary to assure coordination with and give, where the need is comparable, preference to programs carried on under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 in such schools or institutions.

UTILIZATION OF FOODS

"SEC. 19. Each school and nonprofit institution participating under section 14 of this Act shall, insofar as practicable, utilize in its program foods designated from time to time by the Secretary as being in abundance, either nationally or in the school area, or foods donated by the Secretary. Foods available under section 416 of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 1058), as amended, or purchased under section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (49 Stat. 774), as amended, or section 709 of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 1212), may be donated by the Secretary to schools, in accordance with the needs as determined by local school authorities, and to nonprofit institutions for utilization in their feeding programs under this Act, as well as to other schools carrying out nonprofit school lunch programs and other institutions authorized to receive such foods.