Federal Income Guidelines for Reduced School Lunches
As with a majority of need-based assistance programs, the United States Department of Agriculture's National School Lunch Program uses income to determine eligibility. Based on where a family's household earnings stand in relation to the federal poverty line, the program provides millions of children with free or reduced-price lunches and milk in thousands of schools across the country every year.
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Function
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The USDA's National School Lunch Program not only aims to lift a financial burden off of a low-income family's shoulders, it ensures that their children receive sound nourishment while at school. As the USDA explains, school lunches served under the program must meet dietary standards pertaining to fat consumption. School lunches must also supply children with 1/3 of their recommended allowances for caloric intake, protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron and calcium.
Eligibility
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Families qualify for a free or low-cost lunch based on how much money they earn. The USDA assesses eligibility by comparing a family's combined household income with the federal poverty line. According to the USDA, children who come from families with earnings at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty line receive a free meal. If a family's income falls between 130 and 185 percent of the federal poverty, their child qualifies for a low-cost meal, which cannot exceed 40 cents.
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Numbers
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The USDA explains that the federal poverty line figures it uses to restrict access to the National School Lunch program remained the same from the 2009-2010 to the 2010-2011 periods, both of which run between July 1 and June 30 each year. For a family of four, for instance, 185 percent of the federal poverty line equals $40,793 in annual income in the 48 contiguous states, the District of Columbia, Guam and all U.S. Territories. These numbers increase in Alaska ($51,005) and Hawaii ($46,916). A family of four in the lower 48 states, D.C., Guam and the Territories is at 130 percent of the federal poverty line if they earn $28,655 a year. The increases for Alaska and Hawaii bring the totals to $35,841 and $32,968, respectively.
Income Definition
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For the purposes of its eligibility guidelines, the USDA considers a family's gross income, that is income prior to deductions such as taxes and charitable contributions. The USDA classifies items such as earnings from a job, rental income, child support or alimony, social security, dividends or interest on savings, and public assistance payments as income.
Size and Cost
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The USDA estimates that the National School Lunch program served more than 31 million schoolchildren in over 101,000 schools in 2009. Since the inception of the program in 1946, the USDA approximates that schools across the nation have given out more than 219 billion lunches thanks to the program. The programs cost the federal government $9.8 billion to run in the 2009 fiscal year, up from $6.1 billion in 2000 and $70 million in 1947.
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