The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 is a federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 13, 2010. The bill set new nutrition standards for schools, and allocates $4.5 billion for their implementation. The new nutrition standards had been a point initiative for First Lady Michelle Obama’s fight against childhood obesity and part of her Let’s Move! initiative.
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act allows USDA to make reforms to the school lunch and breakfast programs by improving the critical nutrition and hunger safety net for millions of children.
According to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Act of 2010, schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program must ensure that schools provide the same level of support for lunches served to students paying for lunch as for lunches served to students eligible for free lunch. School food authorities must compare the price for paid lunches to the difference between the per meal federal reimbursement for free and paid lunches. For school year 2015-2016, this value is $2.70 (difference between the free reimbursement rate of $3.06 and the paid reimbursement rate of $0.36).
If the district’s price for paid lunch is $2.78 or more, it is in compliance. Lunch prices are not required to be increased. If the district’s price for paid lunch is less than $2.70, they must either gradually adjust the prices or provide non-federal funding to cover the difference. The price adjustment must be increased by 2% plus an inflation rate of 2.97%, as specified in the law. Any price increase may be rounded down to the nearest five cents. The law caps the required increase in lunch prices at ten cents in any year.
In accordance with the recommendation by the Department of Education, it is recommended that student school breakfast and lunch prices be increased by $.10. Breakfast cost for PK-6 will be $1.25; lunch $2.10. Breakfast cost for 7-12 will be $1.25; lunch $2.60.
Adult meal prices must be $.64 higher than the highest student meal price which will take the adult breakfast price to $2.25 and the adult lunch price to $3.25.
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