	Introduction

The term child nutrition programs refers to several U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) programs that provide food to children in institutional settings. Also operating in schools, the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program provides funding for fruit and vegetable snacks in participating elementary schools, and the Special Milk Program provides support for milk in schools that do not participate in NSLP or SBP. The child nutrition programs were last reauthorized by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA, P.L. 111-296 ). On September 30, 2015, some of the authorities created or extended by the HHFKA expired. There were no significant child nutrition reauthorization efforts in the 115 th Congress; however, 2018 farm bill proposals and the final enacted bill included a few provisions related to child nutrition programs. Other issues relate to access, including alternatives to on-site consumption in summer meals and implementation of the Community Eligibility Provision, an option to provide free meals to all students in certain schools. Current Issues

		Nutrition Standards for School Meals and Snacks

			Background

School meals must meet certain requirements to be eligible for federal reimbursement, including nutritional requirements. These nutrition standards were last updated following the enactment of the HHFKA, which required USDA to update the standards for school meals and create new nutrition standards for "competitive" foods (e.g., foods sold in vending machines, a la carte lines, and snack bars) within a specified timeframe. For school meals, the updated standards increased the amount of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in school lunches and breakfasts. Apart from these changes, the nutrition standards for school meals remain largely intact. "Buy American" in School Meals Programs

Schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and/or School Breakfast Program (SBP) must comply with federal requirements related to sourcing foods domestically. These requirements are outlined in the school meals programs' authorizing laws and clarified in USDA guidance. USDA has issued guidance on how SFAs and state agencies should implement the Buy American requirements. 115-334 ) included a provision requiring USDA to "enforce full compliance" with the Buy American requirements and "ensure that States and school food authorities fully understand their responsibilities" within 180 days of enactment. Alternatives to Congregate Feeding in Summer Meals

Under current law, summer meals are generally provided in "congregate" or group settings where children come to eat while supervised. Most recently, the third FY2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act ( P.L. Many of these jurisdictions participated in Summer EBT in previous summers as well. This demonstration has not been evaluated. One secondary effect of CEP is that it has created data issues for other nonnutrition federal and state programs. Unpaid Meal Costs and "Lunch Shaming"

Students may qualify for free meals, or they may have to pay for reduced-price or full-price meals. In recent years, the issue of students owing and not paying their meal costs, and schools' responses to such situations, has received increased attention. Starting in 2010, Congress and USDA have taken actions to address the issue of unpaid meal costs. As part of the review, the law required USDA to "prepare a report on the feasibility of establishing national standards for meal charges and the provision of alternate meals" and, if applicable, make recommendations related to the implementation of the standards. Paid Lunch and Other School Food Pricing

The HHFKA created new requirements related to schools' pricing of paid lunches (sometimes referred to as "paid lunch equity" requirements). Acronyms Used in This Report

CACFP: Child and Adult Care Food Program
CDF: Canned, dried, or frozen
CEP: Community Eligibility Provision
eSFSP: Enhanced Summer Food Service Program
FFVP: Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
HHFKA: Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act
NSFSA: Nonprofit school food service account
NSLP: National School Lunch Program 
SBP: School Breakfast Program 
SFA: School food authority
SFSP : Summer Food Service Program
SMP: Special Milk Program 
SSO: Summer Seamless Option 
Summer EBT or SEBTC : Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children
SY: school year
USDA-FNS: U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service
The term child nutrition programs refers to several U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS) programs that provide food for children in institutional settings. These include the school meals programs—the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program—as well as the Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program, Special Milk Program, and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.
The most recent child nutrition reauthorization, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA; P.L. 111-296), made a number of changes to the child nutrition programs. In some cases, these changes spurred debate during the law's implementation, particularly in regard to updated nutrition standards for school meals and snacks. On September 30, 2015, some of the authorities created by the HHFKA expired. Efforts to reauthorize the child nutrition programs in the 114th Congress, while not completed, considered several related issues and prompted further discussion about the programs. There were no substantial reauthorization attempts in the 115th Congress.
Current issues discussed in this report include the following:
Nutrition standards for school meals and snacks. The HHFKA required USDA to update the nutrition standards for school meals and other foods sold in schools. USDA issued final rules on these standards in 2012 and 2016, respectively. Some schools had difficulty implementing the nutrition standards, and USDA and Congress have taken actions to change certain parts of the standards related to whole grains, sodium, and milk.
Offerings in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP). There have been debates recently over whether the FFVP should include processed and preserved fruits and vegetables, including canned, dried, and frozen items. Currently, statute permits only fresh offerings.
"Buy American" requirements for school meals. The school meals programs' authorizing laws require schools to source foods domestically, with some exceptions, under Buy American requirements. Efforts both to tighten and loosen these requirements have been made in recent years. The enacted 2018 farm bill (P.L. 115-334) instructed USDA to "enforce full compliance" with the Buy American requirements and report to Congress within 180 days of enactment.
Congregate feeding in summer meals. Under current law, children must consume summer meals on-site. This is known as the "congregate feeding" requirement. Starting in 2010, Congress funded demonstration projects, including the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) demonstration, to test alternatives to congregate feeding in summer meals. Congress has increased funding for Summer EBT in recent appropriations cycles and there have been discussions about whether to continue or expand the program.
Implementation of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). The HHFKA created CEP, an option for qualifying schools, groups of schools, and school districts to offer free meals to all students. Because income-based applications for school meals are no longer required in schools adopting CEP, its implementation has created data issues for federal and state programs relying on free and reduced-price lunch eligibility data.
Unpaid meal costs and "lunch shaming." The issue of students not paying for meals and schools' handling of these situations has received increasing attention. Some schools have adopted what some term as "lunch shaming" practices, including throwing away a student's selected hot meal and providing a cold meal alternative when a student does not pay. Congress and USDA have taken actions recently to reduce instances of student nonpayment and stigmatization.
Paid lunch pricing. One result of new requirements in the HHFKA was price increases for paid (full price) lunches in many schools. Attempts have been made—some successfully—to loosen these "paid lunch equity" requirements in recent years.