History of Child
Nutrition Programs
Participant’s Workbook
History of Child Nutrition Programs
Table of Contents
Participant’s Workbook
Lesson-at-a-Glance ......................................................................... 3
Lesson Objectives .......................................................................... 4
Pre-Lesson Test .............................................................................. 5
Introduction .................................................................................. 7
Historical Milestones ..................................................................... 8
Wrap Up.......................................................................................21
Suggested Activity ........................................................................21
Post-Lesson Test .......................................................................... 22
References ....................................................................................24
Orientation to School Nutrition Management Seminar
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Lesson-at-a-Glance
Time
Topic
Participant’s Workbook
Task
1 minute
Objectives
View the lesson objectives.
3 minutes
Pre-Lesson Test
Take the Pre-Lesson Test.
4 minutes
Introduction
View slides 1-4.
View video clip 1.
1 minute
Beginning in Europe
5 minutes
Early Programs in America
View slide 5.
5 minutes
The Depression Years
View slides 6-9.
View video clip 2.
5 minutes
World War II and the Passage of the NSLA
View slides 10-14.
View video clip 3.
5 minutes
The Transition Years
View slides 15-16.
5 minutes
The War on Poverty
View slides 17-22.
5 minutes
The Great Society
View slides 23-27.
5 minutes
The Nation in Turmoil
View slides 28-29.
5 minutes
Triumphs and Challenges
View slide 30.
5 minutes
The New Millennium
2 minutes
Wrap Up
1 minute
Suggested Activity
3 minutes
Post-Lesson Test
View slide 31.
Take the Post-Lesson Test.
Total: 60 minutes
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Lesson Objectives
Participant’s Workbook
Upon completion of this lesson, the participant will be able to
1. Identify historical milestones in the evolution of Child Nutrition Programs.
2. Recognize key Child Nutrition Program legislative policy, purposes, funding
provisions, and regulatory authority for Child Nutrition Programs at the federal, state,
and local level.
3. Identify the values that have sustained Child Nutrition Programs since their beginning
and provide direction for the future.
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Pre-Lesson Test
Participant’s Workbook
1. Early school nutrition programs in America were most often motivated by
a. Educational objectives
b. Concern about undernutrition among needy children
c. Community development efforts
d. Employment opportunities for unemployed young men
2. The growth of support for school nutrition programs was greatly impacted by
a. Young men determined to be unfit for military service during World War I and
World War II due to malnutrition
b. Scientific studies conducted in the early 1900s demonstrated that school lunch
participation improved school performance
c. The crash of the Stock Market
d. Boom in agriculture production in the 1930s
3. The National School Lunch Program was established by
a. The expansion of the WPA lunch projects to all states prior to WWII
b. The passage of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966
c. The signing into law of the National School Lunch Act in 1946
d. The establishment of the American School Food Service Association in 1946
4. The War on Poverty of the 1960s led to the passage of the Child Nutrition Act, which
provided all of the following provisions except
a. A pilot breakfast program
b. The Special Milk Program
c. Establishment of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
d. The provision for state administrative funds to support state expansion efforts
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Participant’s Workbook
5. More recent changes to the school nutrition programs, which are in effect today,
include the following:
a. Schools participating in the National School Lunch Program must have school
wellness policies that address nutrition education, physical activity, and healthy
school meals
b. Fruit and Vegetable Programs are implemented in numerous states to provide
fresh fruits and vegetables during the school day but outside the school meals
program
c. Greater emphasis on food safety
d. Annual grants to states for training and nutrition education through the
Nutrition Education and Training Program
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Introduction to Lesson
Participant’s Workbook
As the leaders of our nutrition programs today, we are positioned to play a key role in
shaping the way our children enjoy foods at school in the future. Looking at the past will
help us to understand the beliefs, values, and strategies that were used to start early nutrition
programs; and bring them recognition as health and wellness programs that serve healthy
meals to millions of children every day.
In this lesson, we will talk about some of the more significant milestones in the history of
child nutrition programs including the laws and policies that were passed to create and further
develop our programs.
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Historical Milestones
Participant’s Workbook
Beginning in Europe: Key Points
• The first school feeding began in Munich, Germany, in 1790.
• France and England also began public or school feeding in the 1800s.
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Early Programs in America: Key Points
•
Participant’s Workbook
Early programs were motivated by charity.
• Ellen H. Richards initiated the first school feeding in the
United States in the year 1894 in the city of Boston.
•
Visionaries saw these programs as more than simple feeding programs. They hoped
that feeding the children would motivate them to seek instruction in industry and
mental training.
•
Two books published in 1906, Poverty, by Robert Hunter, and The Bitter Cry of the
Children, by John Spargo, focused public attention on the social consequences of
undernourishment.
•
When boys were examined for the 1917 draft for World War I, large numbers of them
were found to be malnourished and unfit for military service. This resulted in the
growth of the school lunch program in the 1920s.
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
The Depression Years: Key Points
Participant’s Workbook
• The Great Depression brought on the second wave in the development of child
nutrition programs.
•
The school lunch program met three needs during the Great Depression
o food for underfed and hungry children;
o work for hundreds of unemployed persons; and
o an outlet for the huge surplus of agricultural
commodities.
•
The federal government began its first financial support of the school lunch program
in the 1930s.
• Soon after Franklin D. Roosevelt became
president in 1935, several new programs were
established, including the Works Progress
Administration (WPA).
• Through the school lunch program, WPA provided jobs for
needy women and solved the problem of surplus farm products, creating a cash income
for farmers.
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Participant’s Workbook
World War II and the Passage of the National School Lunch Act
• World War II had a positive impact on the
economy, but a negative impact on the school lunch
program (SLP).
no food to
• WPA closed in the early part of 1943, and
without its support, schools had no funds for labor and
serve.
•
In July 1943, Congress appropriated money to continue the SLP. These funds
continued on a year-to-year basis from 1943-1946.
•
The bills introduced in Congress proposing the establishment of a permanent school
lunch program were debated for more than two years.
• President Harry Truman signed the National
School Lunch Act (NSLA) on June 4, 1946, establishing
the school lunch program on a permanent basis.
• Section 2 of the NSLA defines the purpose of the
NSLA and is the basis for national policy. This section
has not been changed since its passage in 1946.
It is hereby declared to be the policy of Congress, as a measure of national security, to
safeguard the health and well-being of the nation’s children and to encourage the domestic
consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities and other food, by assisting the States,
through grants-in-aid and other means, in providing an adequate supply of food and other
facilities for the establishment, maintenance, operation, and expansion of nonprofit school
lunch programs. (Pub. L. 79-396, Stat. 281, Sect. 2, 1946).
•
Section 2 of the NSLA defines its intent and purposes—defense, education, health,
nutrition, and agriculture.
•
Funds would be allocated on the basis of
o
the number of children between the ages of five and 17, inclusively; and
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Participant’s Workbook
o
•
•
•
the need for assistance in the state as indicated by the per capita income.
The NSLA requires schools participating in the program to
o
serve nutritious lunches that meet requirements set by the USDA including
being consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans;
o
provide a program that is accessible to all children without discrimination
regardless of their ability to pay, handicap, race, or gender including those
children with special needs;
o
maintain records and reports to support the use of funds, service of meals, and
consistency with meeting free and reduced meal program requirements;
o
operate a nonprofit program;
o
comply with safety and sanitation requirements including the establishment of
a food safety program;
o
use USDA commodities effectively;
o
comply with the competitive foods policy; and
o
implement a local wellness policy.
In return for meeting these requirements, local school districts receive
o
reimbursement for paid, free, and reduced price meals;
o
a guaranteed level of commodity support; and
o
technical assistance in the form of training and materials.
1946 brought about not only the NSLA, but also the American School Food Service
Association (ASFSA). It had two major purposes, which were to
o
promote professional growth of school lunch personnel; and
o be an advocate for the SLPs at the federal, state, and local level
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
The Transition Years
Participant’s Workbook
• The Special Milk Program (SMP) was created in 1954 to
help dairy farmers move the surplus milk that was no longer
needed by the military into the market.
• The SMP has been modified many times since then and is
currently limited to schools without a food service.
•
Also in 1954, the court case of Brown vs. Board of Education, regarding the Topeka,
Kansas, school board decision to prohibit an African American student from attending
a traditional white school, had a significant influence on school meals.
•
Following the end of segregated schools, more African American families chose to
have their children attend schools closer to their homes. As a result, school attendance
at those schools increased and there was a need to expand school lunch programs.
• Changes in the commercial food world forced school lunch planners to offer more
choices to accommodate students’ preferences.
• Russia’s launching of Sputnik in 1957, created a national concern for improving the
quality of education in America for all children.
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Participant’s Workbook
The War on Poverty
In the 1962 amendments to the NSLA
o
Section 4 was amended to provide funds on the basis
of the participation rate instead of enrollment; and
o
Section 11 authorized supplemental funds to provide
additional support to schools in low income areas.
•
•
Congress passed the Civil Rights Act and the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act in 1965. Both of these acts had a major impact on school lunch.
•
Title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provided funds for
strengthening state departments of education, and Title I provided funds for helping
local school districts expand and strengthen programs in schools with high
concentrations of educationally deprived children.
•
However, by the next appropriation period, educators made plans to use all the money
for classroom activities and compensatory education. Schools could no longer use
Elementary and Secondary Education Act money for feeding programs for children.
• The outcry that followed demonstrated
the need for expanded child nutrition programs
and additional funding. As a result, the Child
Nutrition Act was passed in 1966.
•
The Child Nutrition Act authorized
o
a pilot breakfast program for two years to help close the nutrition gap for
needy children or for children who travel long distances by bus;
o
the Special Milk Program for three years;
o nonfood assistance (equipment) for the purpose of extending lunch and
breakfast programs ;
o state administrative expense funds to support state expansion efforts; and
o
the USDA as the federal agency for administering all school food service
programs.
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
•
Participant’s Workbook
Congress amended the NSLA and the Child Nutrition Act in 1968 to address
additional child nutrition needs such as nutrition programs for young children in
daycare and for school-age children during the summer, when school was not in
session.
• At the close of the 1968 hearing after
listening to the ASFSA panel’s testimony,
Congressman Carl Perkins (KY)
appropriated $100 million to schools to feed
children.
•
•
The media also played a role to raise national awareness and brought the American
people to a higher level of commitment to ending hunger.
•
ASFSA developed Blueprint for Action during a conference in Washington, D.C. in
1969. Plans and strategies emerged from the conference for
o
legislative initiatives that would transform funding of child nutrition programs;
o
professional development outreach that would include member certification;
o
nutrition education effort that actively involved students; and
o a public relations initiative.
Recommendations of the White House Conference of 1969 led to
o the development of the Health Objectives of the Nation and the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans; and
o legislation and policies in the 1970s that expanded the scope of child nutrition and
nutrition education programs.
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Participant’s Workbook
The Great Society
Public Law 91-248 (1970)
o
authorized all schools serving free and reduced
price lunches to receive special assistance funds;
o
established uniform national guidelines to
determine eligibility for the free and reduced price meals;
changed state matching requirements for the lunch program;
expanded the nonfood assistance program;
authorized funds for nutritional training and surveys;
created the National Advisory Council on Child Nutrition; and
gave the Secretary of Agriculture authority to issue regulations concerning
competitive foods in schools.
•
o
o
o
o
o
•
This bill provided the foundation for at least 15 other bills that became law in the
1970s. Following is a summary of the major provisions contained in the 15 bills
o
stabilized funding for child nutrition programs.
o
uniform guidelines for free and reduced price meals.
o
the National Advisory Council was created.
o
authorization to control the sale of competitive foods.
o
Special Milk Program made permanent.
o
nutrition training and surveys authorized.
o
School Breakfast Program made permanent in 1975.
o
Offer Versus Serve provision enacted in 1975.
o
Summer Food Service Program established as a separate program.
o
Child Care Food Program established and made permanent.
o
Commodity Program modified.
o
Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children
established.
o
Nutrition Education and Training (NET) Program established.
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
The Nation in Turmoil
Participant’s Workbook
•
During the 1980s, interest rates were soaring and the American public was asking for
federal spending to be controlled.
•
The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1980 resulted in a $400 million reduction in child
nutrition program funding.
•
The good news: the Summer Food Service Program, WIC, NET, state administrative
expense, and Commodity Distribution Programs were reauthorized through 1984, and
again through 1989.
• Reagan’s administration moved
aggressively to reduce the national deficit and
size of government resulting in another
Omnibus Reconciliation Act in 1981, reducing
child nutrition funding by $1.4 billion, or
approximately 25 percent.
•
By the middle of the Reagan years, a national consensus emerged that federally-assisted
child nutrition programs were essential community resources.
•
Between 1988 and 1990, Congress enacted a number of additional measures restoring
or strengthening child nutrition.
• Congress authorized the establishment
of the National Food Service Management
Institute (NFSMI) in 1989, to be established at
the University of Mississippi and
cooperatively operated with the University of
Southern Mississippi. Its purposes are to
conduct applied research, develop and provide training and education, and serve as a
clearinghouse for Child Nutrition materials.
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Triumphs and Challenges
Participant’s Workbook
•
In the early 1990s, the nation was awakening to escalating health issues including
obesity and chronic diseases related to nutrition and physical activity practices.
•
The 1994 Reauthorization Act, the Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act focused
on improving the quality of school meals.
o It required implementation of the nutrition principles of the Dietary Guidelines
in school meals.
o It provided for improvements in the commodity program.
o It directed the USDA to provide technical assistance and training to help
improve the quality of meals provided.
o It permanently authorized NFSMI and directed the Institute to assist the
USDA in meeting the requirements related to the Dietary Guidelines.
•
The USDA began two major initiatives in support of the goals of the legislations.
o The School Meals Initiative for Healthy School Meals (SMI) involves the
development of alternative approaches to planning school meals that gave states
and districts more flexibility in the process of implementing the principles of
the Dietary Guidelines into school meals.
o The Team Nutrition Initiative, a technical assistance program, was established
to assist schools in improving reimbursable meals, building healthy nutrition
environments, and building partnerships at all levels to support program goals.
• When the 1994 elections created a new Congress, the
Republican majority devised a plan called Contract with America.
o
o
o
o
• This proposal would have changed the program from a
nutrition program for all children to a welfare program. An
attempt was made to
eliminate support for general assistance (Section 4 funds) for all children;
target the funds exclusively for meals to needy children;
eliminate requirements for national nutrition standards; and
change the NET Program to a discretionary program with reduced funding.
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Participant’s Workbook
•
The child nutrition professional coalition rallied again and the proposals were defeated.
•
The 1998 Reauthorization Act and the William F. Goodling Child Nutrition
Reauthorization Act of 1998
o reauthorized WIC, Summer Food Service Program, and State Administrative
Expense through 2003;
o expanded after-school snacks to complement congressional goals for afterschool care;
o authorized pilot programs for universal lunch programs in a limited number of
elementary schools;
o authorized seamless nutrition programs as a means of reducing paperwork;
o extended pilot programs, including the universal lunch programs and the
commodity programs, through 2003; and
o provided funding for a food safety program, including development of
materials and training, and required that federally assisted food programs
operating in schools be inspected annually.
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
The New Millennium
Participant’s Workbook
•
The No Child Left Behind program focused on increased test scores, which turned the
spotlight on the school breakfast program.
•
The School Nutrition Association (SNA), formerly the ASFSA, focused on getting
state legislation and funding for school breakfast programs.
•
The SNA also launched a major initiative to eliminate the reduced-price category
(ERP) of meals and fold those into the free meal category.
•
The WIC and Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 2004 contained major
provisions which enhance the national efforts to promote health and well-being and
help to prevent health problems such as obesity and many chronic diseases. Significant
provisions include
o
a mandate for local wellness policy;
o
authorization of Team Nutrition Network (Section 295);
o
repealed Nutrition Education and Training (NET) Program;
o
Fruit and Vegetable Program made permanent;
o
a mandate for the Food Safety Program; and
o
food safety inspections required twice a year and they must be posted.
•
In addition to the WIC and Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 2004, the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans, the USDA Food Guidance System, MyPyramid: Steps to a
Healthier You, and more recently, My Plate, have helped make changes in school
nutrition programs.
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Wrap Up
Participant’s Workbook
In the future, as in the past, social, economic, and environmental conditions will affect child
nutrition programs. Legislative changes will be demanded at the national and state levels, and
policies and procedures will be put in place at the state and local levels. As you reflect on the
development and history of child nutrition programs, think about ways the program has
responded to social, economic, and environmental conditions. History does repeat itself.
There will be cycles of triumphs and cycles of trials. School nutrition professionals arm
themselves with the knowledge and skills to preserve the best of the past as they plan for and
deal with the future.
What part do you want to play in the future of child nutrition programs?
Suggested Activity
To learn more details about the history of Child Nutrition Programs, visit the NFSMI
Archives for reading and viewing photos. You’ll find the link in the Additional Resources
section. Once again, knowing the past can help us understand the present.
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Post-Lesson Test
Participant’s Workbook
1. Early school nutrition programs in America were most often motivated by
a. Educational objectives
b. Concern about undernutrition among needy children
c. Community development efforts
d. Employment opportunities for unemployed young men
2. The growth of support for school nutrition programs was greatly impacted by
a. Young men determined to be unfit for military service during World War I and
World War II due to malnutrition
b. Scientific studies conducted in the early 1900s demonstrated that school lunch
participation improved school performance
c. The crash of the Stock Market
d. Boom in agriculture production in the 1930s
3. The National School Lunch Program was established by
a. The expansion of the WPA lunch projects to all states prior to WWII
b. The passage of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966
c. The signing into law of the National School Lunch Act in 1946
d. The establishment of the American School Food Service Association in 1946
4. The War on Poverty of the 1960s led to the passage of the Child Nutrition Act, which
provided all of the following provisions except
a. A pilot breakfast program
b. The Special Milk Program
c. Establishment of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
d. The provision for state administrative funds to support state expansion efforts
Orientation to School Nutrition Management Seminar
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Participant’s Workbook
5. More recent changes to the school nutrition programs, which are in effect today,
include the following:
a. Schools participating in the National School Lunch Program must have school
wellness policies that address nutrition education, physical activity, and healthy
school meals
b. Fruit and Vegetable Programs are implemented in numerous states to provide
fresh fruits and vegetables during the school day but outside the school meals
program
c. Greater emphasis on food safety
d. Annual grants to states for training and nutrition education through the
Nutrition Education and Training Program
Orientation to School Nutrition Management Seminar
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
References
Participant’s Workbook
Martin, J., & Oakley, C. (Eds.). (2008). Managing child nutrition programs: Leadership for
excellence. (3nd ed.). Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc.
Public Laws
Public Law 108-265. Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (2004).
Public Law 105-336. William F. Goodling Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 1998.
Public Law 105-336. (1998).
Public Law 103-448, Sect. 18. Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act of 1994 (1994).
Public Law 101-147. Amendments to the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition
Act (1989).
Public Law 100-327. Commodity Distribution and Reform Act (1988).
Public Law 97-35. Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981 (1981).
Public Law 96-499. Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1980 (1980).
Public Law 95-627. Amendments to the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition
Act (1978).
Public Law 95-166. Amendments to the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition
Act (1977).
Public Law 93-326. Amendments to the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition
Act (1974).
Public Law 93-150. Amendments to the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition
Act (1973).
Public Law 93-13. Amendments to the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition
Act (1973).
Public Law 92-35. Amendments to the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition
Act (1971).
Orientation to School Nutrition Management Seminar
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History of Child Nutrition Programs
Participant’s Workbook
Public Law 91-295. Amendments to the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (1970).
Public Law 91-248. Amendments to the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition
Act (1970).
Public Law 90-302, 82 Stat. 117, Sec. 3. Amendments to the National School Lunch and Child
Nutrition Act (1968).
Public Law 89-642, 80 Stat. Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (1966).
Public Law 87-780, 76 Stat. Amendments to the National School Lunch Act (1962).
Public Law 83-690. Agricultural Act of 1954 (1954).
Public Law 79-396, Stat. 281, Sect. 2. National School Lunch Act (1946).
Additional Resources
NFSMI Child Nutrition Archives: www.nfsmi.org
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