Many children depend upon
subsidized school meal programs to supplement substandard diets at home; when summer arrives, that aid frequently goes away.
She struggles to sell thousands of families on her belief that the federally -
subsidized school meals program can support made - from - scratch food that's not only nutritious and sustainably sourced, but also attractive to kids trained to prefer convenience foods.
Not exact matches
Some are advocating for the government to
subsidize a free or reduced - cost
meal program in higher education, similar to what's available in K - 12
schools.
However, foods served at classroom parties and at other
school functions aren't covered under these guidelines (even though they do compete with the federally
subsidized meals program, at least in my mind).
No
school is allowed to sell soda as part of the federally
subsidized meal program, and fruits and vegetables are now required
meal components.
In October, the USDA's Food and Nutrition Services division, which oversees the
subsidized meal program, circulated a memo saying that while it encourages the use of salad bars in
schools,
school menu planners must tell students the minimum amounts they must take from salad bars, cashiers «must be trained to judge accurately the quantities of self - service items,» and point - of - sale registers «must be stationed after the salad bar.»
-LSB-...] In order to break even under the current federal
program,
school districts almost universally sell «a la carte» foods in addition to the federally
subsidized meal.
Erica Goodman, a graduate student in media studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, volunteers in the local
schools as part of a campaign to boost participation in the
subsidized meal program.
The jolt in demand for government -
subsidized meals comes as many
school programs are struggling to balance their food service budgets because of higher costs and a decline in paying customers,
school nutrition advocates said.
In October, the USDA's Food and Nutrition Services division, which oversees the
subsidized meal program, circulated a memo saying that while it encourages the use of salad bars in
schools,
school menu planners must tell students the minimum amounts they must take from salad bars, cashiers «must be trained to judge accurately the quantities of self - service items,» and point of sale registers «must be stationed after the salad bar.»
For many children, the federally -
subsidized meals program, where milk is a required element at breakfast and at lunch, is an important source of calcium and vitamin D — at least when
school is in session.
Micheline Piekarski, president of the Illinois
School Food Service Association, said some
schools might find it cheaper to drop out of
subsidized lunch
programs altogether and offer more expensive, less nutritious ala carte menus instead of full
meals.
While the federal lunch
program subsidizes school meals at a rate of $ 2.68 each,
schools must shoulder the other costs.
But the biggest problem I've had all along with this approach is that it does not address the needs of elementary
school children, who are the biggest consumers of the federally -
subsidized meals program.
Yet, much of that work depends on a simple, often unstated, assumption: that the short list of control variables captured in educational data systems — prior achievement, student demographics, English language learner status, eligibility for federally
subsidized meals or
programs for gifted and special education students — include the relevant factors by which students are sorted to teachers and
schools.
These
programs subsidize meals for more than 30 million low - income children, provide supplemental funding to 56,000 high - poverty
schools, and support special education
programs for nearly 7 million students.
Federally
subsidized meal programs have since expanded to include
school breakfast as well as after -
school and summer options.