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A program that offers free or reduced-price school lunches recently expanded to more U.S. states, now reaching about 75 percent of students across the country.
The U.S. Department Agriculture added Alabama, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina and South Carolina to a demonstration program that began in 2012, bringing the total number of states participating in the program to 27, according to a news release issued Tuesday.
The agency said the 27 states in the program represented approximately 75 percent of students in the nation.
Students that have Medicaid will also now be automatically added to the program and be able to receive meals for lunch and breakfast for free or at a reduced price, according to the USDA website. Children whose parents are in other programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, also are in the program. Most students who receive free or reduced-price lunches apply for the program.
Direct certification allows children in low-income households to obtain free and reduced-price school meals easier.
"Adding Medicaid to the list of benefit programs that can 'directly certify' a student to receive free or reduced-price meals is a win-win for students, families and school officials. This means less paperwork for families and fewer school meal applications for school districts to process and verify," the news release said.
Students receive free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program, created under the National School Lunch Act, which was signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1946, according to the USDA website. There is also the School Breakfast Program, which started as a pilot project in 1966 and was made permanent in 1975, so students are able to receive two meals while at school.
Children who families that have incomes under 130 percent of the Federal poverty level are eligible for free meals, while those with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals, the USDA website reported.
"Providing reliable access to nutritious meals has never been more important as Louisiana continues to recover from the effects of recent hurricanes, floods and the pandemic," said John Dupre, state director of child nutrition programs for the Louisiana Department of Education.
USDA said Tuesday's action expands demonstration projects that have certified more than 1 million students for free means and nearly 260,000 for reduced-price meals since the 2012-2013 school year.
"Direct certification works to decrease errors in school meal program administration and ensures children in need aren't mistakenly left behind," said USDA Food and Nutrition Service southwest regional administrator Bill Ludwig.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
