House Bill Proposes Overhaul Of Federal School Lunch Program

Education Week (7/8, Samuels) reported, "More children would be enrolled in the federal free school lunch program and schools would be reimbursed a higher amount for those lunches" under the Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act of 2010. The legislation introduced in the US House last month "would allow schools in high-poverty areas a new option called 'community eligibility,' which permits free meals to all students without collecting paper applications." It also "would, for the first time, establish mandatory national nutrition standards for foods sold outside of the cafeteria, such as in vending machines, and would expand direct certification for school meals for foster children and children who are eligible for Medicaid." The Bay City (MI) Times (7/9, Dodson) adds that "currently, free lunch programs are currently receive $2.68 per meal," an amount that "is adjusted yearly for inflation." But, "under the proposed bill, that rate would increase by 6-cents."