Federal government eying free lunches for all students in high-poverty areas, rules for vending machines, By Dave Murray, July 8, 2010, Grand Rapids Press: “The federal government could soon be paying for lunch for entire communities of children under a new plan in the U.S. House of Representatives. Christina A. Samuels of Education Week reports that the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act of 2010 would allow schools in high-poverty areas to be covered under a ‘community eligibility’ option that allows free meals to all students without the traditional paperwork to determine eligibility. That would mean free meals for an extra 20 percent of students in Grand Rapids, where eight of 10 students already meet income levels to qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The districts provides students who are eligible for reduced-price lunches to get them at no cost, using money from a surplus in the lunch program’s account. But Samuels said there are more far-reaching effects, including establishing nutritional standards for foods served outside the cafeteria, such as in vending machines…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty