National School Lunch Program Fills Food Assistance
Gaps
Katherine
Ralston
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
serves 29 million lunches daily, and nearly half
of those are served free to low-income students.
ERS researchers found that two-thirds of students
receiving free lunches were in households that did
not participate in the Food Stamp Program or in
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF),
even though their income levels were sufficiently
low to qualify for benefits.
The National School Lunch Program
makes free lunches available to children in households
with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty
line—$26,000 for a family of four in 2006.
The program does not have some of the restrictions
that may discourage participation in the Food Stamp
Program and TANF, such as asset limits and proof
of income. Schools also encourage families to apply
for NSLP certification by sending home application
forms with students. Schools have an incentive to
increase participation because higher participation
helps the school cafeteria cover fixed costs.
Researchers also found that participation
in the NSLP, for free meals as well as reduced-
and full-price meals, is lower among high school
students than among children ages 8-13. This finding
is partly related to younger students’ being
more likely to have lower household incomes and
thus more likely to qualify for free and reduced-price
meals. Researchers found that 34 percent of students
ages 8-13 came from families below 130 percent of
the poverty line while only 30 percent of students
ages 15-18 did.
A focus group study also found
lower participation among older students to be linked
to greater concerns about stigma, both over being
poor enough to receive a free meal and over the
perception of school meals as “uncool,”
compared with food from the à la carte line
or off campus.
Greater use of electronic payment
methods to prevent free meal recipients from being
identified by their peers has increased participation,
as have changes in menu and meal
presentation, such as the introduction of salad
bars and improved cooking techniques.
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