The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) makes it possible for all school children in the United States to receive a nutritious lunch each and every school day.

History
Congress created the NSLP after an investigation into the health of young men rejected in the World War II draft showed a connection between physical deficiencies and childhood malnutrition. In response, Congress enacted the 1946 National School Lunch Act as a "measure of national security, to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation's children."

In 1998, Congress expanded the NSLP to include cash reimbursement for snacks served in certain afterschool educational and enrichment programs.

Benefits
The NSLP provides per meal cash reimbursements to schools as an entitlement to provide nutritious meals to children. This means that all eligible schools may participate and all children attending those schools may participate. The National School Lunch Program provides school children with one-third or more of their Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for key nutrients. These lunches are required to provide no more than 30 percent of calories from fat and less than 10 percent from saturated fat. USDA research indicates that children who participate in School Lunch have superior nutritional intakes compared to those who do not participate.

By the first day of the 2006-07 school year, every school district that participates in the National School Lunch Program is required to enact a local school wellness policy, a new tool to address obesity and promote healthy eating and physical activity through changes in school environments.

For schools and institutions that participate in the NSLP, Provision 2 is an option that enables them to provide free meals to all of their students while reducing paperwork and administrative costs. Under Provision 2, all students receive free meals, regardless of income, and schools collect applications for free and reduced-price meals once every four years, at most. Also, schools under Provision 2 do not have to track and record the different categories of meals served for at least three out of every four years. Provision 2 schools pay the difference between the cost of serving meals at no charge to all students and the federal reimbursement for the meals.

Participation
During the 2003-04 school year, 28.4 million children participated in the National School Lunch Program through more than 98,000 schools and residential child care institutions. On a typical school day, 16.5 million of these 28.4 million total participants were receiving free or reduced price lunches.

Eligibility
All public and non-profit private schools (regardless of tuition) and all Residential Child Care Institutions (RCCIs) can participate in the National School Lunch Program. School boards must apply to their state education agency in order to institute a program. All students in these schools may participate in the lunch program. However, household income determines whether they receive free meals, reduced price meals (the maximum price to the student's family is 40 cents), or "paid" meals, for which students pay most of the cost (the federal government pays a modest amount for administrative costs).

For children at participating schools there are two ways to qualify for free or reduced price meals in the NSLP. Both generally require the household to fill out a school meals application and return it to the child's school.

If a household currently receives Food Stamps, TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), or participates in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) the children in that household are eligible for free school meals for as long as the family receives these other benefits. This is called categorical eligibility. Homeless, runaway and migrant children are also automatically eligible for free school meals.

If a household's total income is below a certain amount, the children in that household can eat free or at a very reduced price. To receive free meals, household income must fall below 130 percent of poverty. For reduced-price meals, household income must be between 130 and 185 percent of the federal poverty level. This is called income-based eligibility.
Some school districts use "direct certification" to qualify children for free meals without requiring the family to submit an application. In these districts, the school works with the State or local Food Stamp, TANF, and FDPIR agencies to identify and certify for school meals (without additional applications) those children in households currently receiving these benefits.

Starting in the 2006-07 school year, school districts with enrollments of over 25,000 students will be required to directly certify food stamp students for free school meals. In the 2007-08 school year, districts with over 10,000 students will fall under this requirement, and starting with the 2008-09 school year, all school districts nationwide will be required to directly certify food stamp students for free school meals.