Changes in Income Eligibility
Under the new standards, “kids who were poor last year aren’t anymore,” said Edward Cooney, attorney with the Food Research and Action Center and a critic of the regulations. Other advocacy groups including the American School Food Service Association projected that changes in eligibility would drive schools to drop out of the program. Marshall L. Matz, an attorney for the association, stated that less than one third of students would be eligible for subsidized lunches in the majority of school districts. Unless the Federal Government was able to expand assistance, school districts would be unable to serve such higher-priced lunches he hypothesized.
In his testimony before the Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education, Pennsylvania Representative William F. Goodling countered this opinion stating that schools in the country’s highest poverty areas would be the least affected by the subsidy reductions and “will be receiving a greater Federal reimbursement than any of the other schools.”
As voiced by FNS Administrator Hoagland, increasing the costs for full-priced meals and reducing portion sizes, as recommended in the regulations, were necessary to ensure the continued participation of schools in the School Lunch Program. Low-income children would be hurt more if schools dropped the Program as they would not receive free or subsidized lunches.
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