FY 2013 School Breakfast Program Expansion Grants

The Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (the Act), Section 23 (42 USC 1793), as amended by Section 105 of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (PL 111-296), authorizes funds to provide grants on a competitive basis to states agencies. $1 million was appropriated for state agencies to expand the School Breakfast Program (SBP).

The purpose of the SBP expansion grants is to provide subgrants, not to exceed $10,000, to local educational agencies (LEA) for qualifying schools to establish, maintain, or expand the SBP. As defined in Section 4(d)(1) of the Act, the term “qualifying school” means a school in severe need. These include only schools (having a SBP or desiring to initiate a SBP) in which during school year 2011-2012 for which lunches were served, 40 percent or more of the lunches served to students at the school were served free or at a reduced price.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food & Nutrition Service (FNS) will use the $1 million to award grant funds on a competitive basis to selected states using the following criteria: SBP participation compared to participation in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP); percentage of severe need schools in the state; SBP growth in Free/Reduced Price participation in relation to the Free/Reduced Price NSLP participation; and the state-level unemployment rate. FNS also considered whether the state provides an additional SBP subsidy to LEAs.