The National School Lunch Program Through the Years
1920s — school lunch programs run by volunteers spring up throughout the country
1946 — Congress passes the National School Lunch Act as “a measure of national security, to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the Nation’s children and to encourage the domestic consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities.” The program was initially administered out of the Consumer Marketing Service, which dealt with the distribution of agricultural commodities and did not focus on child nutrition. The USDA defined three types of meals — A, B and C — eligible for reimbursements based on their nutritional quality. Type A meals were formulated to meet one-third of a child’s daily nutrition requirements, Type B meals provided a supplementary lunch, and Type C meals consisted of only whole milk.
1962 — Congress provides for per-meal cash reimbursements for free or reduced-price lunches. Funding is based on the economic conditions of the district, the percent of students receiving free/reduced lunches, the price of lunch compared to the average price in the state, and the financial position of the lunch program
1965 — Food and Agriculture Act amended to allow the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase dairy products on the open market for schools when the Commodity Credit Corporation does not have enough dairy for lunch programs
1966 — The School Lunch Act of 1966 establishes a pilot breakfast program and provides for equipment and staff funding for states that demonstrate need
1966 — Supervision of school food programs centralized under the USDA. Other agencies like the Office of Economic Opportunity and the Bureau of Indian Affairs transferred their school food service funds to the USDA
1968 — Program eligibility extended to “service institutions” such as child day-care centers and recreation centers
1969 — Food and Nutrition Service created inside USDA to oversee federal food programs
1969 — The Secretary of Agriculture changes program regulations to allow schools to contract with private food-service companies.
1972 — Congress allows vending machines in schools after the National Soft Drink Association lobbies to remove the 1946 restrictions on “competitive foods.” As schools faced huge budget cuts in the 1970s, industry groups defended the sale of sodas and snacks as a source of revenue for districts.
1970 — USDA eliminates the Type A, B and C meal categories and reimburses only Type A meals. In practice, this allowed for more a la carte offerings in schools.
1979 — USDA changes rules on “foods of minimal nutritional value.” Any food with more than 5 percent of the recommended daily allowance of a basic nutrient in a 100-calorie serving could be sold in the cafeteria. Foods that did not meet this criteria could be sold after lunch hours. This allowed to sale of candy and snacks, as long as they were fortified with nutrients like calcium or vitamin C. The regulations set no limits on levels of salt, sugar or fat.
1981 — USDA briefly introduces some controversial nutrition guidelines to allow schools to continue providing meals in the face of budget cuts. Ketchup was classified as a vegetable, jam counted as a serving of fruit, and cakes, cookies and chips were considered servings of bread. Schools could also claim reimbursement for serving smaller portions of milk and fruit. The regulations were repealed after public outcry.
1990s — Federal Government allows nine fast-food chains to serve food in schools. Pizza Hut, Subway, Little Caesar’s, Domino’s, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Blimpie’s, Arby’s and Chic-Fil-A begin to operate in school lunchrooms.
1995 — Congress allows for nutrient-based and food-based menu planning and revises the meal pattern to include more produce and grains. Nutrition standards were set based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the 1989 Recommended Daily Allowances of key nutrients.
2004 — The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act requires the Secretary of Agriculture to issue recommendations that increase the servings of foods promoted in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Requires local school districts to develop wellness policies that link to school nutrition. Also permanently authorized the Fruit and Vegetable Program and mandated that schools offer milk in a variety of fat contents.
2009 — Child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program, are up for reauthorization.
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