New USDA Meals Program Would Serve More

Some Iowa schools may soon see changes in how they administer free and reduced-price meal programs.

 

U-S Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says a new proposal calls for schools in high-poverty areas to serve free breakfast and lunch to -all- students, not just those who qualify under the current guidelines.   Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, says the program change would see free meals provided for all children in certain schools where now about 40-percent of the students qualify.

 

 

While it stands to reason that feeding more students would increase costs, Vilsack says the change is designed to save money.

 

 

The U-S Department of Agriculture says nine-million children in 22-thousand schools nationwide would qualify.