Updated May 2006
Congress Helps More Military Families Receive
Free and Reduced Price Meals
On Wednesday, June 30, 2004, President Bush signed the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 into law (Public Law 108-265). One important provision of the Act allows more children in military households to receive free or reduced price meals in all the child nutrition programs by making permanent the exclusion of privatized military housing allowances from consideration as income when determining meal eligibility.
With privatized military housing allowances no longer counted as income, this provision allows more military families to fall within the eligibility ranges for free or reduced price meals. This exclusion originally was authorized for fiscal years 2002 and 2003, then was continued through June 30, 2004. The Act makes this provision permanent.
-
This exclusion applies only to households living in housing covered by the Military Housing Privatization Initiative. Through this initiative, military-owned housing is operated by private contractors on some military installations, and housing allowances appear on service members' earnings statements.
-
Military households that live off-base in regular commercial or private housing are NOT eligible for this exclusion of income.
Click here for more information about the Military Housing Privatization Initiative.
Click here 
to view Memo CN 1 about this provision on the U.S. Department of Agriculture website.
Click here for more information about the National School Lunch Program.
Click here for highlights of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004.
Click here to return to FRAC's Child Nutrition Reauthorization Implementation website.
| Subscribe to the FRAC News Digest for weekly updates on legislation, research and news on hunger and poverty. |
|
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