Mandatory Spending

Function 600 - Income Security

Eliminate Subsidies for Certain Meals in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs

CBO periodically issues a compendium of policy options (called Options for Reducing the Deficit) covering a broad range of issues, as well as separate reports that include options for changing federal tax and spending policies in particular areas. This option appears in one of those publications. The options are derived from many sources and reflect a range of possibilities. For each option, CBO presents an estimate of its effects on the budget but makes no recommendations. Inclusion or exclusion of any particular option does not imply an endorsement or rejection by CBO.

Billions of dollars 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2015-2019 2015-2024
Change in Outlays -0.1 -0.7 -0.9 -1.1 -1.1 -1.2 -1.2 -1.2 -1.3 -1.4 -3.9 -10.2

Note: This option would take effect in July 2015. Estimates are relative to CBO’s August 2014 baseline projections.

The National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program provide funds that enable public schools, nonprofit private schools, and residential child care institutions to offer subsidized meals and snacks to students. In the 2014–2015 school year, federal subsidies are $0.59 for each lunch and $0.28 for each breakfast for many students in households with income above 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines (commonly known as the federal poverty level, or FPL). The programs provide larger subsidies for meals served to students from households with income at or below 185 percent of the FPL. This option would eliminate the subsidies for meals served to students from households with income greater than 185 percent of the FPL.