While some in the government are trying to cut the fat out of the federally financed school lunch program, others are trying to cut funding for the program altogether, asserting that federal funds should not be used to pay for school lunches.
In mid-August, the future of the program was the subject of political campaigning at the Missouri State Fair. U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, who has been in the national news regarding his highly controversial comments on “legitimate” rape, said he was opposed to federal subsidies for school meals.
Students attending a majority of schools in Southwest Missouri, Northeast Oklahoma and Southeast Kansas receive either free or reduced-price lunches and breakfasts, and all school meals receive some subsidies. The modern school lunch program dates to the National School Lunch Act of 1946. The program covered 7 million children in its first year and was expanded to 22 million children by 1970. Congress has expanded benefits since then, for example, by adding an after-school snack program in 1998. Congress began school breakfast as a pilot program in 1966 and made it permanent in 1975.
According to a report in The Columbia Daily Tribune, Akin said he wasn’t opposed to feeding children, but that it wasn’t the federal government’s job to pay for it.
The state, he said, is responsible for education, and if providing breakfast and lunch was important then state and local governments could pick up the tab.
Akin was one of only 13 members of the House of Representatives to vote against a resolution expressing support for the National School Lunch Program. In March 2010, Akin voted against House Resolution 362, a resolution expressing support for the goals and ideals of the school lunch program.
Akin is challenging U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., for her seat in Washington this November. McCaskill said Akin’s views are too extreme.
“The notion that the federal government should stop using surplus commodities to help public schools feed kids lunch is a non-starter for me,” McCaskill said following Akin’s statement at the state fair.
According to the Tribune article, ending federal subsidies for school lunches in Missouri would add $260 million to state spending. Budget and education officials say that money is not available, and Missouri requires a balanced budget.
Missouri has already made cuts for school buses, Career Ladder programs, teacher professional development and Parents as Teachers.
Ron Lankford, deputy commissioner at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Department, and a former longtime Webb City superintendent of schools, said the state could not absorb the cost of the school lunch program.
Akin’s position on federal funding for school lunches is echoed in a 2009 CATO Institute article. CATO is a Libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., that challenged the school lunch program:
“Like other subsidy programs, the school meal programs are widely abused. A large share of free and reduced-price meals is inappropriately provided to families with incomes above the statutory income cutoffs.
Because schools put little effort into verifying recipient incomes, many higher-income parents receive subsidies.
Audits have found that about one-quarter of those receiving free and reduced-cost lunches are not eligible,” according to the CATO research.
“The bottom line is that local governments have many incentives to maximize the number of school meal recipients and little incentive to reduce waste and abuse. These problems are common in federal subsidy programs for state and local governments, in programs ranging from Medicaid to highway grants,” the article concluded.
Erik Dorey, a McCaskill spokesman, said the senator sees the program as a staple in Missouri.
“These school meal programs are critical to helping the kids who need it most in communities across the state — urban and rural, big and small. More than half of Missouri's students rely on school meal programs in some way,” said Dorey in a statement issued by McCaskill’s office.
Opinion
Sunday Forum: Missouri officials say end of federal subsidies could stop school lunch program
Akin says he’s opposed to federal subsidies; McCaskill supports longtime program
- Opinion
-
-
Our View: Safer schools
Being able to see for ourselves what would have happened to our children had they been standing in the main hall of their schools during the May 22, 2011, tornado had a profound effect on our understanding of safe schools.
-
Marilyn Beasley, guest columnist: Claiming responsibility for abuse of power
Over the past few months we’ve witnessed the abuse of power by President Barack Obama and his administration.
-
Our View: ‘Why?’ has no answer
Just hours before, there was breakfast and laughter. There were pictures on the walls and memories in every room.
-
Our View: Absent from House
We can’t figure out why two Missouri legislators think they should be elected to the U.S. House when it appears they can’t seem to show up to take care of business in the Missouri House.
-
Your View: Terrorism is terrorism
In the May 13 issue of The Joplin Globe there was an Associated Press article concerning the New Orleans shooting.
-
Your View: Terrible injustice
I see this Jasper County nuisance law as a terrible injustice on the rights of the residents of Jasper County.
-
Your View: Should we be outraged?
Were there effusive apologies following the lockdown of Boston as most of the continent indulged vicariously in the ongoing manhunt?
-
Phill Brooks, columnist: Missouri Senate did what Founding Fathers had in mind
George Washington once described the Senate as being like a saucer in which you pour coffee or tea.
-
Other Views: Conflicts in SEC
Money talks. In the continuing dispute over the all-too-cozy relationship between the people who create and sell financial products and the people who rate their risk, the money says: Shut up and let us do what we want.
-
Our View: Fixing failure
Some 1,200 injured workers will finally get the payments they are owed. In its final week in session, Missouri’s General Assembly, through bipartisan efforts, passed a solution to address the insolvency of the state’s Second Injury Fund.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
Obama Offers Drone Strike Defense
Raw: Heckler Interrupts Obama on Guantanamo
A Slice of Apple History Up for Grabs
Johnson: Don't Blame Islam or UK Policy
Raw: 80-Year-Old Climbs Mount Everest
Wash. State Man Arrested Following Ricin Scare
Chain-Reaction School Bus Crash Injures About 50
Raw: Scuffles in London After Hacking Death
Texas Students Coach Teachers on Fitness
New Forecasting Tool Eyed for Hurricane Season
Meet MJ, the Bike Riding Tabby Cat
Britain Attack Believed Linked to Radical Islam
Raw: Kevin Durant Tours Moore After $1M Pledge
Man Shot While Questioned in Boston Probe
Weiner Launches Bid to Become NYC Mayor
School Storm Protection Spotty in Tornado Zones
Moore Native Toby Keith Tours Tornado Damage
