Free School Meals

Free school meals to help feed schoolchildren in need can be traced back to the 1700s in Europe and the 1800s in the United States. These programs grew after World War II as many social activists raised concerns about the nutrition and health of children living in poverty. Governments in Europe, the United States, Asia, and other areas began funding free or reduced-cost lunches for children whose families met certain income guidelines.

In the latter part of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, breakfasts were added to the programs in some areas, and initiatives to provide nutritional support on weekends and during the summer were created. Nutritional requirements were tightened for all school meals, especially those provided by government-subsidized programs.

Some programs also sought to improve the overall health of children by making free, healthy meals available to all students regardless of income.

Programs in the United States

The earliest student lunch programs in the United States began in New York City in the mid-1800s. By the early twentieth century, Philadelphia and Boston followed suit, as did Milwaukee, Cleveland, and others. In many cases, social activist groups, not the government, funded these programs. The programs were slower to catch on in rural areas where small school facilities often did not have the room to provide a kitchen area for food preparation or the funds to staff it.

By the 1930s, activists had raised awareness of student hunger and nutrition to levels sufficient to gain legislative support, and states began to provide funds for school lunches. The Great Depression increased the number of children in need and led to the federal government providing aid in both funds and food items in support of lunches for the needy. In 1946, Congress acted to provide both permanent status and a permanent appropriation for the purposes of providing school lunches to the poor. The National School Lunch Act also included standards for what the lunches should include.

The year 1966 saw the U.S. Congress approve the Child Nutrition Act, aimed at further enhancing the nutrition of children by the addition of breakfast programs and an emphasis on milk as part of the meals. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, further amendments and additions were made to the school lunch program to redefine eligibility, increase accountability from participating schools, and further enhance the nutritional requirements.

In 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama championed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, aimed at improving the nutrition schoolchildren receive through the National School Lunch Program. The act received mixed reviews; while the intent to provide better nutrition was generally accepted, its critics—including many schools—said the program resulted in unfamiliar meals that children would not eat and led to increased costs and food waste.

The income criteria for free school meals changes from year to year, but guidelines are generally set around 130 percent of the poverty level for free lunches and 185 percent of the poverty level for reduced cost lunches.

Programs Around the World

Most countries in Europe provide free lunches at least to families who meet requirements to receive supplemental income support, unemployment benefits, or certain tax credits. Some countries such as Finland, Sweden, and Denmark provide free lunches to all students, while others such as Norway do not provide prepared lunches in school at all. Canada does not have a national school lunch program. Instead, the governance of school lunches is left up to the individual provinces. Programs there range from universal free lunches within a province to no funded lunches at all. Students in Asia generally receive some sort of school-provided meal based on local cuisine. In some areas, the meals are not free, but the costs are supplemented to make them more affordable. One notable exception is Japan, where the labor costs for the food preparation staff is paid for by the school or municipality and parents pay for the ingredients.

School Lunch Program Concerns

An ongoing concern regarding school lunch programs has always been the stigma some students face because of the lunch programs’ association with poverty. From the earliest offerings in the 1870s, French programs took steps to avoid this by using the same type of lunch ticket for students receiving free lunches and those who paid for their meals; other programs around the world continue to take similar steps.

In the twenty-first century, movements arose in England and in parts of the United States to make free lunches available to all school students, or at least to all students in certain grade levels. It was reasoned that removing any stigma associated with receiving a free lunch would encourage more students to take advantage of the lunch programs that provide healthy, nutritious meals. This would make balanced meals available to all schoolchildren, regardless of income level. In addition to difficulties adequately funding these programs, some opposed them because of the implications of having government assume responsibility for feeding children.

One additional concern continues to be that the children who receive meals while school is in session go without healthy meals on weekends and during school holidays. Programs—some government run and others run by civic and community organizations—attempt to fill this gap by providing backpacks full of food for the weekend and short holiday periods as well as running summer food programs.

Bibliography

"Free School Lunches." The Scottish Government. The Scottish Government, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2016. http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Education/Schools/HLivi/schoolmeals/FreeSchoolMeals

Gosden, Emily. "Free School Meals Could Be Scrapped." Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 20 Sept. 2015. Web. 19 Jan. 2016. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11877898/Free-school-meals-could-be-scrapped.html

Hyslop, Katie. "Does Canada Need a National School Food Program?" The Tyee. The Tyee, 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2016. http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/10/13/Canada-School-Food-Program/

Kelly, Julie and Jeff Stier. "Michelle Obama’s ‘Healthy’ School Lunches." National Review. National Review,9 Sept. 2015. Web. 19 Jan. 2016. http://www.nationalreview.com/article/423784/uncle-sam-and-school-lunches

"National School Lunch Program." Food Research & Action Center. Food Research & Action Center, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2016. http://frac.org/federal-foodnutrition-programs/national-school-lunch-program/

"National School Lunch Program." United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. United States Department of Agriculture, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2016. http://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/national-school-lunch-program-nslp

Strauss, Valerie. "Why Kids Who Aren’t Poor Are Now Getting Free School Lunches." Washington Post. Washington Post, n.d 11 May 2015. Web. 19 Jan. 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/05/11/why-kids-who-arent-poor-are-now-getting-free-and-reduced-price-school-lunches/