ASFSA says it can't swallow costs of meeting higher nutrition standards

Nation's Restaurant News, March 17, 2003

WASHINGTON -- Faced with rising costs stemming from higher nutrition standards, school foodservice directors asked Congress to increase the amount of money the U.S. Department of Agriculture is allowed to reimburse schools for meals served to low-income children and to do away with the reduced-price-meals category for low-income families.

Speaking before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, foodservice officials noted that the present rate of reimbursement does not cover the cost of preparing the meals. They asked that 10 cents be added to the $2.14 the government currently pays schools for each free meal served.

"There are significant costs associated with meeting nutrition standards," Gaye Lynn MacDonald told the committee. MacDonald is president of the American School Food Service Association and foodservice director for the Bellingham, Wash., School District.

Members of ASFSA were in town for the association's annual Legislative Action Conference. The gathering included speeches by child-nutrition advocates and visits to several legislators' offices.

MacDonald also urged the committee to push for eliminating the reduced-priced-meal category. At present children in families whose incomes are low but not at the poverty level are allowed to buy a complete lunch for 40 cents. But MacDonald noted that even at that lower rate -- a full-price meal could be as much as $1.50 -- many eligible children can't afford the meal.

She said ASFSA would prefer that those children be made eligible for free lunches.

At the hearing MacDonald also asked that Congress increase the reimbursement for free breakfasts by five cents, and she urged elected officials to make available at least one-half cent per meal for state and local nutrition-education efforts.

Senators speaking at the hearing generally expressed their support for school foodservice. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said, "We have a children health and nutrition crisis in America," and added his support for banning vending machines in schools. Sen. Deborah Stabenow, D-Mich., told the group she supports eliminating the reduced-price-meal category in favor of free meals.

But Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., cautioned that adding more money to school nutrition programs would contribute to the federal budget deficit.

"I really think that [elected officials] are listening to us," said Dennis Barrett, foodservice director for Dallas Public Schools, who attended the Legislative Action Conference but was not a participant in the hearings. "A few years ago they tried to do away with the school lunch program, and there was such a backlash from it that they realize they can't try to do that again. Now, the attitude seems to be: 'What can we afford? What can we do with the money we have?'"

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