Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73
§1753 Apportionments to States
Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 13— - SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAMS › § 1753
Summary
The law tells the Secretary to use the money Congress set aside to provide food and to pay States for school lunches. Each year the Secretary must pay each State for the number of lunches served in schools that take part in the program. The payment equals the number of lunches times the national average lunch payment, which is 10.5 cents (as adjusted under section 1759a(a)). If a school food authority had 60% or more of its lunches served free or at reduced price in the second preceding school year, the national average payment is 2 cents higher for those lunches. The Secretary also must update meal patterns and nutrition rules for school lunch and breakfast programs using recommendations from the National Research Council. Proposed rules had to be published within 18 months after December 13, 2010, and final or interim rules had to follow within 18 months after that, with a compliance date set in those rules. While rules are being written, the Secretary must report progress every 90 days to two congressional committees. Once the implementing rules, December 13, 2010, or October 1, 2012 (whichever is later) take effect, State-certified school food authorities that meet the new standards get an extra 6 cents per lunch (adjusted under section 1759a(a)(3)); schools out of compliance do not get the extra payment. The Secretary must give States funds for training and oversight, using up to $50,000,000 in specified years and may reserve up to $3,000,000 per year for Federal administration.
Full Legal Text
Title 42, §1753
The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)The sums appropriated for any fiscal year pursuant to the authorizations contained in section 1752 of this title shall be available to the Secretary for supplying agricultural commodities and other food for the program in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(b)(1)The Secretary shall make food assistance payments to each State educational agency each fiscal year, at such times as the Secretary may determine, from the sums appropriated for such purpose, in a total amount equal to the product obtained by multiplying—
(A)the number of lunches (consisting of a combination of foods which meet the minimum nutritional requirements prescribed by the Secretary under section 1758(a) of this title) served during such fiscal year in schools in such State which participate in the school lunch program under this chapter under agreements with such State educational agency; by
(B)the national average lunch payment prescribed in paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(2)The national average lunch payment for each lunch served shall be 10.5 cents (as adjusted pursuant to section 1759a(a) of this title) except that for each lunch served in school food authorities in which 60 percent or more of the lunches served in the school lunch program during the second preceding school year were served free or at a reduced price, the national average lunch payment shall be 2 cents more.
(3)(A)(i)Notwithstanding section 1758(f) of this title, not later than 18 months after December 13, 2010, the Secretary shall promulgate proposed regulations to update the meal patterns and nutrition standards for the school lunch program authorized under this chapter and the school breakfast program established by section 1773 of this title based on recommendations made by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences.
(ii)(I)Not later than 18 months after promulgation of the proposed regulations under clause (i), the Secretary shall promulgate interim or final regulations.
(II)The Secretary shall establish in the interim or final regulations a date by which all school food authorities participating in the school lunch program authorized under this Act and the school breakfast program established by section 1773 of this title are required to comply with the meal pattern and nutrition standards established in the interim or final regulations.
(iii)Not later than 90 days after December 13, 2010, and each 90 days thereafter until the Secretary has promulgated interim or final regulations under clause (ii), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a quarterly report on progress made toward promulgation of the regulations described in this subparagraph.
(B)Beginning on the later of the date of promulgation of the implementing regulations described in subparagraph (A)(ii), December 13, 2010, or October 1, 2012, the Secretary shall provide additional reimbursement for each lunch served in school food authorities determined to be eligible under subparagraph (D).
(C)(i)Each lunch served in school food authorities determined to be eligible under subparagraph (D) shall receive an additional 6 cents, adjusted in accordance with section 1759a(a)(3) of this title, to the national lunch average payment for each lunch served.
(ii)The State agency shall disburse funds made available under this paragraph to school food authorities eligible to receive additional reimbursement.
(D)To be eligible to receive an additional reimbursement described in this paragraph, a school food authority shall be certified by the State to be in compliance with the interim or final regulations described in subparagraph (A)(ii).
(E)Beginning on the later of the date described in subparagraph (A)(ii)(II), December 13, 2010, or October 1, 2012, school food authorities found to be out of compliance with the meal patterns or nutrition standards established by the implementing regulations shall not receive the additional reimbursement for each lunch served described in this paragraph.
(F)(i)Subject to clauses (ii) and (iii), the Secretary shall make funds available to States for State activities related to training, technical assistance, certification, and oversight activities of this paragraph.
(ii)The Secretary shall provide funds described in clause (i) to States administering a school lunch program in a manner proportional to the administrative expense allocation of each State during the preceding fiscal year.
(iii)(I)In the later of the fiscal year in which the implementing regulations described in subparagraph (A)(ii) are promulgated or the fiscal year in which this paragraph is enacted, and in the subsequent fiscal year, the Secretary shall use not more than $50,000,000 of funds made available under section 1752 of this title to make payments to States described in clause (i).
(II)In providing funds to States under clause (i), the Secretary may reserve not more than $3,000,000 per fiscal year to support Federal administrative activities to carry out this paragraph.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2010—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 111–296 added par. (3). 1989—Pub. L. 101–147, § 301, inserted “Apportionments to States” as section catchline. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 101–147, § 312(2), substituted “reduced price” for “reduced-price”. 1981—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–35, §§ 801(a)(1), (2), 819(g), designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), struck out exclusion of sum specified in section 1754 of this title, and struck out provisions relating to food assistance payments. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 97–35, § 801(a)(3), added subsec. (b). 1973—Pub. L. 93–150 increased national average food assistance payments from 8 to 10 cents per lunch. 1972—Pub. L. 92–433 substituted new formula for food assistance payments to State educational agencies by taking into account the number of lunches served during the year, the children in the schools in such State participating in the school lunch program, and the national average payment per lunch set up by the Secretary, with certain limitations, for apportionment formula limiting the apportionable funds to 75 per cent of the available funds for such year, and taking into account the participation rate for the State, the need rate for the State, and providing for a method of apportionment, special provisions for disposal of excess or unused funds and for fiscal years beginning
July 1, 1962,
July 1, 1963,
July 1, 1964 and fixing the funds for American Samoa at $25,000 for each year for the five fiscal years beginning
July 1, 1962. 1962—Pub. L. 87–823 amended section generally, and, among other changes, substituted as factors for apportionment of funds among the States “(1) the participation rate for the State, and (2) the assistance need rate for the State” for “(1) the number of school children in the State and (2) the need for assistance in the State as indicated by the relation of the per capita income of the United States to the per capita income in the State”; inserted, in provision for determination of amount of apportionment in clause designated “second”, “(exclusive of American Samoa for periods ending before
July 1, 1967)”; inserted provisions for use of transitional formulas in apportionment of funds for fiscal years beginning in 1962, 1963, and 1964 and apportioning to American Samoa $25,000 annually for five fiscal years in period beginning
July 1, 1962 and ending
June 30, 1967; and struck out apportionment formula for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, which limited apportionments to 3 per centum of the total fund to be apportioned but required the apportionment to each to be not less than an amount which would result in an allotment per child of school age equal to that for the State with the lowest per capita income, definition of school (incorporated in section 1760(d)(7) of this title), provision for use of latest per capita income figures certified by the Department of Commerce (incorporated in section 1760(d)(6)(ii) of this title), and definition of school children which provided that the number of school children should be the number between ages of five and seventeen. Pub. L. 87–688 inserted “American Samoa,” after “Guam,” in two places and “the apportionment for American Samoa,” after “the apportionment for Guam,”. 1952—Act
July 12, 1952, removed Alaska and Hawaii from 3 percent limitation imposed on Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands, made limitation applicable to Guam, and modified effects of 3 percent limitation.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Change of Name
Committee on Education and Labor of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Education and the Workforce of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, Jan. 9, 2023.
Effective Date
of 2010 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 111–296 effective Oct. 1, 2010, except as otherwise specifically provided, see section 445 of Pub. L. 111–296, set out as a note under section 1751 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1981 Amendment Pub. L. 97–35, title VIII, § 820(a), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 534, provided that: “The provisions of this title shall take effect as follows: “(1) The
Amendments
made by the following sections shall take effect on the first day of the month following the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 13, 1981] or on September 1, 1981, whichever is earlier:“(A) section 801 [amending this section and section 1759a and 1773 of this title]; “(B) that portion of the amendment made by section 810(c) [amending section 1766 of this title] pertaining to the reimbursement rate for supplements; “(C) that portion of the amendment made by section 810(d)(1) [amending section 1766 of this title] pertaining to the limitation on the number of meals for which reimbursement may be made under the child care food program; “(D) that portion of the amendment made by section 810(d)(3) [amending section 1766 of this title] which reduces the meal reimbursement factor by 10 percent; and “(E) section 811 [amending section 1758 of this title]. “(2) The
Amendments
made by section 802 and 804 [amending section 1755 and 1756 of this title] shall take effect on July 1, 1981. “(3) The
Amendments
made by section 807 [amending section 1772 of this title], 808 [amending section 1760 and 1784 of this title], and 810(a)(2) [amending section 1766 of this title] shall take effect on the first day of the second month following the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 13, 1981]. “(4) The
Amendments
made by the following sections shall take effect October 1, 1981: section 805 [repealing section 1754 and 1774 of this title], 806 [amending section 1788 of this title], 809 [amending section 1761 of this title], 810(a)(1) [amending section 1766 of this title], 810(f) [amending section 1766 of this title], 810(g) [amending section 1766 of this title], 812 [amending section 1759a of this title], 814 [amending section 1776 of this title], 817 [enacting section 1774 of this title and amending section 1759, 1761, 1766, 1773, and 1788 of this title], and 819 [amending this section and section 1755, 1757, 1759a, 1760, 1762a, 1763, 1766, 1773, 1776, and 1780 of this title]. “(5) The
Amendments
made by section 813 [amending section 1759a, 1760, 1762a, and 1772 of this title] shall take effect 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 13, 1981]. “(6) The
Amendments
made by the following provisions shall take effect January 1, 1982: subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of section 810 [amending section 1766 of this title], except that—“(A) the amendment made by section 810(c) pertaining to the reimbursement rate for supplements shall take effect as provided under paragraph (1) of this subsection; “(B) the amendment made by section 810(d)(1) pertaining to the limitation on the number of meals for which reimbursement may be made shall take effect as provided under paragraph (1) of this subsection; and “(C) the amendment made by section 810(d)(3) which reduces the meal reimbursement factor by 10 percent shall take effect as provided under paragraph (1) of this subsection. “(7) The following provisions shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 13, 1981]:“(A) the
Amendments
made by subsections (a) and (b) [amending section 1758 of this title] of section 803 and the provisions of subsections (c) and (d) [amending provisions set out as notes under section 1758 of this title] of section 803; “(B) the amendment made by section 815 [amending section 1786 of this title]; “(C) the amendment made by section 816 [amending section 1785 of this title]; and “(D) the provisions of section 818.”
Effective Date
of 1972 Amendment Pub. L. 92–433, § 4(c), Sept. 26, 1972, 86 Stat. 726, provided that the amendment made by that section is effective after the fiscal year ending June 30, 1973.
Effective Date
of 1962 Amendment Pub. L. 87–688, § 3(b), Sept. 25, 1962, 76 Stat. 587, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by this section [amending this section and section 1754 and 1760 of this title] shall be applicable only with respect to funds appropriated after the date of enactment of this Act [Sept. 25, 1962].”
Effective Date
of 1952 AmendmentAct July 12, 1952, ch. 699, § 1(d), 66 Stat. 591, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by this Act [amending this section and section 1754 and 1760 of this title] shall be effective only with respect to funds appropriated after the date on which this Act is enacted [July 12, 1952].” Promulgation of
Regulations
Pub. L. 97–35, title VIII, § 820(c), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 535, provided that: “Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 13, 1981], the Secretary of Agriculture shall promulgate
Regulations
to implement the
Amendments
made by this title [see Tables for classification].” Support for Child Nutrition Programs; Temporary Reimbursements Pub. L. 117–158, § 2(a),
June 25, 2022, 136 Stat. 1309, provided that: “(1) Temporary lunch reimbursement.—Each lunch served under the school lunch program authorized under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) shall receive additional reimbursement in the amount of 40 cents. “(2) Temporary breakfast reimbursement.—Each breakfast served under the school breakfast program established by section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) shall receive additional reimbursement in the amount of 15 cents. “(3) Limitation.—The additional reimbursement amounts authorized under this subsection shall only be available for the school year beginning July 2022. “(4) Appropriations.—“(A) In general.—There is appropriated, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as are necessary to carry out this subsection. “(B) Disbursement.—A State agency shall disburse funds made available under subparagraph (A) to school food authorities participating in the school meal programs described in paragraphs (1) and (2).” Reduction in General Reimbursement for Fiscal Year Ending
September 30, 1981 Pub. L. 96–499, title II, § 201(a), Dec. 5, 1980, 94 Stat. 2599, provided that the national average payment per lunch under this chapter shall be reduced by 2½ cents for certain school food authorities for fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1981, and that the amount of reimbursements under section 1776 of this title for fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1983, and the amount of State revenues appropriated or used for meeting the requirements under section 1756 of this title for the school year ending
June 30, 1982, shall not be reduced because of a reduction in the amount of Federal funds expended, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 97–35, title VIII, § 820(b)(1), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 535, effective Sept. 1, 1981, or the first day of the first month following Aug. 1981, whichever is earlier. Use of Funds Appropriated Under Section 612c of Title 7 for Implementing This Section and Reimbursement of Such Funds Pub. L. 92–433, § 4(a), Sept. 26, 1972, 86 Stat. 725, authorized Secretary of Agriculture to use so much of the funds appropriated by section 612(c) of title 7, as may be necessary, to carry out the purposes of this section and provide an average rate of reimbursement of not less than 8 cents per meal within each State during the fiscal year 1973 and provided for reimbursement of funds so used. Additional Funds for Apportionment to States and for Special Assistance; Consultation With Child Nutrition Council; Reimbursement of Separate Fund From Supplemental Appropriation Pub. L. 92–153, § 1, Nov. 5, 1971, 85 Stat. 419, provided: “That, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture shall until such time as a supplemental appropriation may provide additional funds for such purpose use so much of the funds appropriated by section 32 of the Act of
August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), as may be necessary, in addition to the funds now available therefor, to carry out the purposes of section 11 of the [Richard B. Russell] National School Lunch Act [section 1759a of this title] and provide a rate of reimbursement which will assure every needy child of free or reduced price lunches during the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1972, and to carry out the purposes of section 4 of the [Richard B. Russell] National School Lunch Act [this section] and provide an average rate of reimbursement of 6 cents per meal within each State. In determining the amount of funds needed and the requirements of the various States therefor, the Secretary shall consult with the National Advisory Council on Child Nutrition and interested parties. Funds expended under the foregoing provisions of this resolution shall be reimbursed out of any supplemental appropriation hereafter enacted [on and after Nov. 5, 1971] for the purpose of carrying out section 4 [this section] and section 11 of the [Richard B. Russell] National School Lunch Act [section 1759a of this title], and such reimbursements shall be deposited into the fund established pursuant to section 32 of the Act of
August 24, 1935 [section 612c of Title 7, Agriculture], to be available for the purposes of said section 32 [section 612c of Title 7].” Apportionment of Additional Funds to States Pub. L. 92–433, § 4(b), Sept. 26, 1972, 86 Stat. 726, provided that: “Funds made available pursuant to this section shall be apportioned to the States in such manner as will best enable schools to meet their obligations with respect to the service of free and reduced-price lunches and to meet the objective of this section with respect to providing a minimum rate of reimbursement under section 4 of the [Richard B. Russell] National School Lunch Act [this section], and such funds shall be apportioned and paid as expeditiously as may be practicable.” Pub. L. 92–153, § 2, Nov. 5, 1971, 85 Stat. 420, provided that: “Funds made available by this joint resolution [amending section 1758 and 1759a of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section 1758 and 1773 of this title] shall be apportioned to the States in such manner as will best enable schools to meet their obligations with respect to the service of free and reduced price lunches and to meet the objective of this joint resolution [amending section 1758 and 1759a of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section 1758 and 1773 of this title] with respect to providing a minimum rate of reimbursement under section 4 of the [Richard B. Russell] National School Lunch Act [this section], and such funds shall be apportioned and paid as expeditiously as may be practicable.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
42 U.S.C. § 1753
Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73