ABSTRACT
The subsidy covered the full cost of milk for needy children who qualified for free lunches under the national school lunch program and also covered part of the cost for other students. The program is administered by the Food and Nutrition Service of the Department of Agriculture. The basic authorizing legislation for the special milk program is found in the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. The reconciliation act eliminated the special milk program for those schools and institutions participating in the national school lunch, school breakfast, commodity only, or child care food programs. The reconciliation act discontinued the special milk program for private schools whose average annual tuition is greater than $1,500 per child. The special milk program is one of several federal programs designed to encourage the consumption of milk by children. The child nutrition programs subsidize meals that include milk; the special milk program subsidized milk apart from or in addition to the federally subsidized meals.
