|
| 1968 |
Special Food Service Program for
Children was created. The 3-year pilot provided grants to States to
help provide meals for children when school was not in session.
There were two components--Child Care and Summer. In 1969, about
99,000 children participated in the summer program, at 1,200 sites. |
|
| 1975 |
Separate Child Care Food Program and
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) were authorized. Residential
summer camps and sites serving areas of poor economic conditions,
where at least one-third of the children who qualify for free and
reduced price meals, were eligible to participate in SFSP. All meals
served to participating children would be reimbursed at a single
reimbursement rate. Start-up and advance payments were made
available for sponsors to help defray costs of planning and
organization and to help with cash flow. Summer meals were served to
more than 1.75 million children, at 12,000 sites. |
|
| 1977 |
Program participation reached an
all-time peak of nearly 2.8 million children, at 23,700 sites. In
addition to growth, however several provisions contributing to abuse
and inefficiency were identified. Public Law 95-166, enacted in
November 1977, attempted to address these issues. The law required
sponsors to provide year-round service, demonstrate the adequacy of
their administrative and financial management, and submit complete
budgets. Residential camps could only claim meals served to children
eligible for free and reduced price meals. Registration for food
service management companies was required. |
|
| 1979 |
Public Law 96-108 placed limitations on
the size of some private nonprofit organization sponsors which
purchased meals from food service management companies. |
|
| 1981 |
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1981 (Public Law 97-35) made major changes to the program. The law
eliminated private nonprofit organization sponsors, except for
schools and camps. The law also redefined "area of poor
economic conditions" to mean areas where 50 percent of children
would be eligible for free and reduced price meals, rather than
one-third. Participation dropped from 1.9 million children at more
than 20,500 sites in 1981, to less than 1.4 million children at
approximately 14,400 sites in 1982. |
|
| 1986 |
Public Laws 99-500 and 99-501 provided
for categorical eligibility for food stamp and AFDC children. |
|
| 1989 |
The Child Nutrition and WIC
Reauthorization Act of 1989 (Public Law 101-147) readmitted private
nonprofit organization sponsors (other than schools and camps), with
certain conditions. The law expanded State agency outreach, training
and monitoring of these organizations. It also authorized
participation by meal providers serving primarily homeless children
and year-round participation by National Youth Sports Program
sponsors. Through the 1980s and early 1990s, several pieces of
legislation were passed to address the reduced participation. Due in
part to these initiatives, participation rose gradually, from just
over 1.4 million children at 14,600 sites in 1983, until finally
topping 2 million in 1993. Since 1993, participation has remained
relatively stable at slightly more than 2 million children. |
|
| 1994 |
The Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans
Act (Public Law 103-448) raised priority for private nonprofit
sponsors with program experience, and removed the one-year waiting
period for nonprofit sponsors operating in areas formerly served by
school or government sites. The law also authorized operation of the
SFSP at non-school sites at times other than the summer due to
emergency school closure. It established start-up and expansion
grants. |
|
| 1996 |
The Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-193) included
more than a dozen amendments designed generally to streamline
program operations and reduce costs. The law removed expansion as a
stated program goal; lowered reimbursement rates for operating
costs; limited the number of reimbursable meal services for certain
sponsors; eliminated participation of "academic year"
National Youth Sports Program sites; and eliminated start-up and
expansion grants. |
|
| 1998 |
The William F. Goodling Child Nutrition
Reauthorization Act of 1998 adjusted program reimbursement rates to
allow higher payment rates in Alaska and Hawaii. The law removed the
remaining restrictions on participation by private nonprofit
organization sponsors; expanded the availability of the "offer
versus serve" option; moved homeless sites into the Child and
Adult Care Food Program; and eliminated Federal requirements for
registering commercial vendors. |
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