KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Schools are increasingly dishing up dinner to students — something advocates for the poor praise but conservatives question.
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in December 2010, provides federal funds for the after-school dinner program in areas where at least half the students qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Before the change, the program was limited to 13 states and the District of Columbia.
Since the change, districts have started rolling out dinner programs both in states newly able to offer them and states where funding was available previously but districts didn't always know about it.
The Kansas City School District expanded its school meal program this year. Districts in Memphis, Tenn., and Oakland, Calif., were among those adding dinner programs.
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