Feed Kids - It's the Law!

    "under no circumstances shal I those unable to pay be charged for their lunches" 

Feed • I 

~JJ -

Public Law 91-248 of 1970 made major reforms in the National School 
Lunch Program and established the right to free or reduced price meals 
for every child whose family ' s income is below the poverty level. 

YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT 
if it participates in the National School Lunch program or receives donated commodities 
from the U.S. Depar tm ent of Agriculture 

MUST - SERVE free or red uced price mea l s to all needy children 

MUST - GIVE priority to feeding the neediest ch i ld ren 

MUST - MEET the minimum nati onal standard for determining need as set by the Secretary of 
Agriculture's annual Income Poverty Guideline. For 1970-71 a family of six with 
income of $4820 must rece ive free or reduced price meals for all the ch i ldren 

MUST - ESTABLISH a maximum price of 20ti for a reduced price l unch and must allow children to pay 
less if they can't afford 20ti 

MUST - PROVIDE th e same benefits to all children in a family 

MUST - PUBLISH an approved free and reduced pr ice pol icy which is in effect uniformly throu ghout 
the district, and whi ch must include: 

*the name of the official author i zed to determine eligibi l ity 

*specific cr iteria fo r e lig ibility for completely free meals and for reduced pricE: meals . 
Any crit eri a in add ition to the Income Poverty Guideline must rela te to needy pupils 
who do not quali fy under the minimum national standard 

*c lear and s imple procedures for app l ying. A declaration of i ncome by any adult in 
th e fam ily is suffic ient. 

* information about the fam il y's ri ght to appeal the denial of free or reduced pri ce 
meals , to receive a prompt and fa ir hearing, to be assisted by a lawyer or friend 
and to receive a written decision. Children receiving free or reduced price meals 
whose elig ibilit y i s cha ll enged must cont inu e to be fed unt il the matter has been 
set t led. 

*assurance that needy children will no t suffe r discrimination. The needy must not 
be required to work for the ir meals , to use separate facilities or to eat a different 
lunch from pay ing children. 

*de scrip tion of methods used to collect fees from paying ch i ldren so that needy 
pupils will not be iden tifi ed. 

MUST - DISTRIBUTE to all parents the above information and applicat ion forms . 

MAY - DETERMINE that certa in children are au tomatically eligib le, feed them and notify parent s 
that applications are unnecessary 

To enable school districts to meet their obligations CONGRESS AUTHORIZED . . . 

- $38 mil li on fo r food service equipment for poor schoo l s for 1970-71 

- "such sums as may be necessary" for Spec ial Ass i stance Funds, earmarked for 
meals for poor chi ldren, wi th all ocations to states on the basis of their needy 
chil dren, ages 3- 17. 

- increased reimbu r semen t s to schools for free and reduced price meals. School s 

may rece i ve the ful I cos t - up to 60ti per mea l- for feed ing the needy. 

- $25 million for School Breakfast Programs for 1970-71. 

I 
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YOUR STATE 
MUST - STOP Federal funds to schoo l s v iolating the l aw 

MUST - ALLOCATE Federal funds to give pr iority to the neediest ch ildren 

MUST - SUBMIT to USDA every March and October the number of children needing free and reduced 
price meals and repo rt monthly on how many are fed 

MUST - FILE every January an annual State Plan of Child Nutrition Operations, whi ch 

*describ es unmet needs in the State 

*s hows how State and Fed eral fund s are used to meet these needs 

*de tai Is an action program to assure meals to al I needy children, to extend food 
servic e to all schools in the State, and to expand School Breakfast and Special 
Food Service Programs For Children 

*reports accomp li shmen ts 

MUST - APPROVE AND MONITOR the free and reduced price poli cies of local school districts and 
evaluate performance 

MAY - ESTABLISH a lower maximum price (below 20<t) for reduced price meals and a higher income 
poverty guidelin e for your State 

MAY - USE 1% of it s budget for projects designed to improve feeding programs 

MAY - REQUIRE districts to develop local Child Nutrition Pl ans 

Day care centers and other institutions serving needy non­
school children in year-around and summer programs are 
eligible for funds, equipment and donated commodities. 
Contact your state educational agency. 

YOUR JOB 
NEEDY CHILDREN HAVE THE RIGHT TO EAT! SAFEGUARD THIS RIGHT! 

WE WANT TO HELP! 

Get yo ur school board's free and reduced price policy 
Inform parents of the ir children' s rights 
Find out whether a II needy ch i ldren are being fed 
Help parents request hearings when lunches are denied 
Contact your state educationa l agency for its March and 
October reports on unmet needs and for your State Pl an 
Encourage citizens groups to recommend improvement in the Plan 
Promote generous State funding of chi Id feeding programs 
File complaints : Food and Nutri tion Serv ice 

Washington, D.C. 20250 

Send us: Your local free and reduced pr i ce pol icy 
Your State Pl an of Child Nutrit ion Operations 
Reports on developmen ts in your community 
Copies of comp lain ts filed wi th USDA 
Your Ideas for feeding more children 

WE'LL Help you evaluate your local and state plans 
Follow up your compla in ts to USDA 
Share your ideas with othe r concerned citizens 

DIVISION of LEGAL INFORMATION & COMMUNITY SERVICE 
Suite 2030 

NATIONAL OFFICE FOR THE 
RIGHTS OF THE INDIGENT 

10 Co lumbus Ci rcle 
New York, N.Y. 10019 

212-586-8397 
NAACP LEGAL DEFE NSE FUND