Updated March 2005

Child Nutrition Reauthorization
Implementation Center

On June 30, 2004, President Bush signed the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 into law, Public Law 108-265. The Act brings about many improvements in the child nutrition programs by expanding the availability of nutritious meals and snacks to more children in school, in outside school hours programs, and in child care; and improving the quality of food in schools.

• Highlights of the Act
• Child Nutrition Programs Pilot Projects - a summary of the projects and a chart of participating States (PDF file)
• Start and End Dates - a table of the start and end dates of the various provisions of the Act

School Meals

• Military Families - how the Act assists military families
• Migrant, Homeless and Runaway Children and Youth - how the Act helps migrant, homeless and runaway children and youth
• Severe Need Breakfast
• Provisions 2 and 3
• Local School Wellness Policies
• Verification of eligibility for free or reduced price meals - changes to methods to select households for verification

Summer Food

• Summer Food Rural Transportation Grants
• California's Year-Round Summer Food Program
• Model Newsletter Article for Out-of-School Time Programs
• Brochure on the new Simplified Summer Food Program ("Lugar Pilots") (PDF file)

Child and Adult Care Food Program

• Highlights of the CACFP provisions
• List of all the CACFP provisions
• Model Newsletter Article on CACFP
• Nebraska CACFP Pilot - expands area eligibility for family child care in rual areas
• CACFP's Exemption for Privatized Military Housing Allowances
• CACFP Paperwork Reduction Provisions
• Outreach Tool Kit for promoting CACFP in shelters - outreach brochures, fact sheets, model newsletter articles, success stories, sample menus, and a Power Point presentation

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

• Summary of WIC provisions
• New definition of WIC food package and review requirements
• Inclusion of physical activity in WIC nutrition education

Text and other analyses of the Act:

• Text of the Act (PDF file)
• Summary of the Act from THOMAS (Library of Congress)
• Section-by-Section Analysis of the Act from the Congressional Research Service (PDF file)
• Memoranda from USDA's Food and Nutrition Service on various provisions of the Act
  
  
• The School Nutrition Association's analysis and summary
• Summary of the Act's Changes to Certification and Verification in the Schools Meal Programs from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• Reducing Paperwork and Connecting Low-Income Children with School Meals: Opportunities under The New Child Nutrition Reauthorization Law from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
  

Press statements about the Act:

• FRAC's Press Release
• Statement by the President Bush's Press Secretary

On June 23 and June 24, 2004, respectively, the Senate and House each unanimously passed the child nutrition reauthorization bill that was signed into law:

• Text of bill (S.2507)
• Letter supporting the bill, signed by over 80 organizations (PDF file)
• Senate Agriculture Committee's summary of the bill
• House Education & the Workforce Committee's press release on the bill
• House Education & the Workforce Committee's summary of the bill
• Statements from the U.S. House of Representatives' floor read on June 24 before the bill's passage (scroll through the floor statements on pages 4930-4936)

This website has been designed as a tool for you to easily access information about the opportunities for positive change that will take place because of this legislation. The site will be updated regularly as new information becomes available. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please email FRAC.

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Return to FRAC's Child Nutrition Reauthorization home

Factsheets on Child Nutrition Programs School Breakfast  |  School Lunch  |  Afterschool  |  Summer Food Women, Infants, and Children  |  Child and Adult Care Food Program

Prepared by the Food Research & Action Center, 1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009; 202-986-2200; www.frac.org