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Mrs. FAHY. No; I think $150,000,000, but Mr. Hecht, our chairman, is a businessman and he says you must not ask for too much. He says a hundred million is what we should ask for.

Senator SPARKMAN. I was wondering to what extent the schoollunch program is adequate today, if you have been able to make any measurements similar to the one you made on the Public Health Service.

Mrs. FAHY. A study was made 2 years ago, Senator Sparkman, which I will be glad to give you for the record. What has happened in 2 years can change the picture because you have so many more children in school now. Probably the Department of Agriculture could help us find out how adequate they feel it is.

(The information referred to above is as follows:)

NEW FACTS REVEALED BY THE MARCH 1948 SURVEY OF THE SCHOOL-LUNCH SITUATION MADE BY THE AMERICAN PARENTS COMMITTEE, INC.

California. Two thousand five hundred additional schools could come into the lunch program if funds were available. Current participation takes in but 25 percent of the total State enrollment, and 75 schools have already discontinued lunch programs due to high cost and low rate of reimbursement. An additional $800,000 of Federal aid would be needed to reimburse at full rates, set by the Department of Agriculture, schools now in the program. Additional Federal aid of $2,000,000 annually would be needed to bring all schools into the program that wish to enter it.

Comment from California :

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if this program is to reach those children who need it most, it is essential that funds be provided for kitchen equipment for 1 or 2 years."

Delaware.-Fifteen additional schools with total enrollment of 5,784 children could be brought into the program if funds were available-$120,000 additional would be needed to reimburse at full rates schools now participating, and an additional $174,000 annually would be required to bring into the program all schools wishing to participate.

Illinois. Twelve thousand schools with enrollment of 1,250,000 children could be taken into the lunch program if there were sufficient funds. Approximately 35 percent of children have dropped out of the program due to higher costs. An additional $300,000 of Federal aid would be needed to reimburse schools currently participating at full rates.

Iowa. Four thousand one-room rural schools with enrollment of 40,000 children have been unable to participate due to lack of Federal aid. At present rates of reimbursement, less than full rates allowable, this State would require $140,000 additional to make full reimbursement. To bring into the program all schools that wish to enter it would require an additional $1,200,000 annually.

Comment from Iowa: "**

who need the lunch most."

a raise in price to children always bars those

Maryland.-Eighty additional schools with approximately 16,000 children could be taken into the program if funds were available. Thirteen schools have been forced out of the program, more than 200 are operating with a deficit, and 21 have changed from type A to type B lunches. It is estimated that 10,000 additional children would participate in the plan if prices could be reduced. Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars would be needed to reimburse at full rates schools now in the program, and an additional $500,000 annually would be required to bring into the program all schools that wish to enter it.

Massachusetts.-One hundred and twenty-five additional schools with 37,500 children could be brought into the program if funds were available-28,924 children have dropped from the lunch program due to high prices. This State would need $269,000 to reimburse at full rates the schools now in the program, and an additional $100,000 annually to bring into the program all schools that wish to enter it.

Michigan. Four thousand six hundred and twenty-seven additional school districts with 763,131 children might come into the program if funds were available. Well over 20,000 children have dropped out of the lunch program due to high prices. This State needs $350,000 additional Federal aid to reimburse at

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full rates schools now in the program, and approximately $8,303,563 additional annually to bring into the program all schools that wish to participate. Comment from Michigan: * * many comments received on the noticeable improvement in health and attitude of children when school lunches are made available."

Missouri.-One thousand four hundred additional schools with enrollments of over 40,000 children could enter the program if funds were available. Twentyeight schools have discontinued the lunch program due to higher costs and low rates of reimbursement, and over 20,000 children have dropped from the lunch program because of increased prices. Missouri needs $500,000 additional aid to reimburse at full rates all schools now in the program, and an additional $600,000 annually to bring into the program all schools with the wish to enter it. Comment from Missouri: it was reported that 68 percent of the school children are not receiving adequate diets."

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*

Montana.-Thirty additional schools with enrollments of 3,500 could be taken into the program if additional funds were available, An additional $50,000 would be needed to reimburse at full rates all schools now participating, and the additional sum of $220,000 annually would be required to bring all schools into the program that wish to enter it.

North Carolina.-One hundred schools with approximately 17,000 children could be brought into the program if funds were available. Fifty thousand children have dropped out of the lunch program due to increased prices. Two hundred and seventy-two thousand dollars would be needed to reimburse at full rates the schools now in the lunch program, and $22,500 additional annually would be needed to bring into the program all schools that wish to enter it.

Nebraska. Many schools are kept out of the program by lack of funds for kitchen equipment. A State-wide diet survey shows that 70 percent of Nebraska's children are deficient in diet.

Oklahoma.-Three thousand five hundred schools with attendance of 100,000 could be taken into the program if funds were available. One hundred schools have been forced to drop from the program, and 31 percent of the children have discontinued eating in school lunchrooms due to high prices. This State needs $700,000 additional to reimburse at full rates schools now in the program, and would require $3,070,000 additional annually to bring all schools into the program that wish to enter it.

Recent survey in Oklahoma indicates that many children in the State eat but one balanced meal each day-and that meal is obtained in the school lunchroom. South Carolina.-Approximately 1,000 schools with enrollments of 100,000 children could be brought into the program if sufficient funds were available. This State would need an additional $400,000 to reimburse at full rates all schools now in the program. One million and eighty thousand dollars additional annually would be required to bring into the lunch program all schools that wish to participate.

Texas. One thousand two hundred and fifty additional schools with enrollments of 125,000 children could be taken into the program if funds were available. One hundred and fifty schools with 275,000 children were forced to drop out of the program, and 10,000 children have dropped out due to higher prices. Texas would require $1,000,000 to reimburse at full rates all schools now in the program, and $2,500,000 additional annually to bring all the schools into the program that wish to enter it.

Utah.-Schools with attendance of 70,000 children could be taken into the program if funds were available. This State would need $350,000 additional to reimburse at full rates the schools currently participating, and would need an additional $630,000 annually to bring all schools into the program that wish to enter it.

Virginia.-Seventy-two thousand dollars additional would be needed to reimburse at full rates all schools now in the lunch program.

West Virginia.-Four hundred additional schools with enrollments totaling 35,000 could be taken into the program if there were sufficient funds. Two hundred and forty schools have been forced to discontinue lunch programs. Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars would be required to reimburse at full rates the schools now in the program, and an additional $400,000 annually would be needed to bring all schools into the program that wish to enter it.

Wyoming.-Eighty-eight thousand six hundred and nine dollars would be needed to reimburse at full rates all schools now in the lunch program.

Ohio.-Four thousand three hundred and fifty-six elementary and high schools with marollments totaling 1,113,994 pupils, could be taken into the lunch program if funds were available. This State would require an additional $800,000 to

reimburse at full rates schools now participating. They estimate it would take four times this amount additional annually to bring into the program all schools with the wish to enter it.

Kansas.-Approximately 115 schools with attendance of 12,000 pupils could be taken into the program if funds were available. An additional $65,000 annually of Federal funds would be necessary to bring into the lunch program all schools with the wish to enter it.

Vermont.-Five hundred and ninety schools with attendance of 15,000 children could be brought into the program if there were sufficient funds. In the year 1949, an additional $18,000 would be needed to reimburse at full rates schools in the program. An additional $40,000 annually would be needed to bring into the program all schools that wish to enter it.

Mrs. JACK B. FAHY,

Executive Director,

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, PRODUCTION AND MARKETING ADMINISTRATION, Washington 25, D. C., December 28, 1949.

The American Parents Committee,

Washington 3, D. C.

DEAR MRS. FAHY: In response to your telephone inquiry of December 27, we have prepared a list of States which found their initial apportionment of national school-lunch program funds insufficient for their program last year. These States shared in a later reapportionment of funds, but since only seven States and the District of Columbia released funds for reapportionment, the increased allocation was not significant in most of the deficit States. The States which requested an additional allocation of funds were as follows:

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With respect to this year's program, the school year is not yet far enough advanced for us to reapportion funds. However, rates of reimbursement set up for participating schools give some indication of the adequacy of funds. The standard rate of reimbursement for a type A meal to a school needing maximum assistance is 9 cents. While some schools operate at a reduced rate of reimbursement because their need for assistance is not so great, we feel it is safe to say that when the average rate in a State is 8 cents or less, assistance has been curtailed because of a shortage of funds. The average rates of reimbursement for this year are:

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In connection with the above, it should be noted that the high rate of assistance in New York and Utah are maintained partially with State funds. The effective Federal rate in New York is about $0.045, and in Utah about $0.030-$0.035. We hope the above information will be of assistance to you.

Sincerely yours,

C. ROY MURPHY,
Chief, School Lunch Division,
Food Distribution Programs Branch,

Senator SPARKMAN. I have been very highly pleased with the reaction to the school-lunch program in my own section. While I was down home this fall I was told by a good number of school people and leading citizens that it was fine as far as it went, but that there were great, unfilled needs particularly in rural areas, where there had been a crop disaster this year.

Mrs. FAHY. Yes.

Senator SPARKMAN. We made an effort to ease the situation, but about all we could do was get additional allocation of surplus prod

ucts.

Mrs. FAHY. Which is not enough. It does not cover the need. Senator SPARKMAN. It allows the program to spread itself out further but does not fill the need by any means.

Mrs. FAHY. Did you find in those rural areas that they had a problem of equipment?

Senator SPARKMAN. Yes, in some places. However, in most of the places the PTA or school organization has managed to raise funds to equip the schools. Most of them are pretty well equipped.

Mrs. FANY. From the very beginning we have asked for money for equipment, but I have never been certain as this program has gone along since the beginning of the war that most communities had not had that taken care of, although undoubtedly you would find rural or very poor areas where they did not have equipment, and there would not be a PTA that could do it. I think a small amount of the money should be appropriated

Senator SPARKMAN. My experience has been that the sense of consciousness of need for school improvement is keenest in rural areas. In most rural areas the parents will manage to do what has to be done, and I am rather of the opinion that if it comes to a question of deciding which is the greater need, the amount applied toward getting warm food to the children is more important than equipment. I think it would be interesting to have a survey made to determine to what extent equipment is actually needed, not wanted, but actually needed. I think it would show some pretty pleasing and surprising results. Mrs. FAHY. You know, Senator, if you have a short session this coming year—

Senator SPARKMAN. Do you say that with any expectation?

Mrs. FAHY. No. I just tell you we will do the survey if you will go home early.

Senator SPARKMAN. I will work to that end.

Mrs. FAHY. That is a personal lobby, too.

Senator SPARKMAN. Thank you very much. It has been a very fine contribution that you have made. You have pointed up a real problem that we must recognize.

Mrs. FAHY. Thank you.

Senator SPARKMAN. Mr. George Riley.

Mr. RILEY. Good morning, sir.

Senator SPARKMAN. We are glad to have you with us, Mr. Riley. Mr. Riley is national legislative representative of the American Federation of Labor.

Mr. Riley, we have your prepared statement. We are very glad to have it. You may read it or discuss it or proceed as you see fit.

Mr. RILEY. At the outset may I have permission to submit a statement prepared by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. Their representative has been unable to come to Washington, and they have asked if they might have leave to include that.

Senator SPARKMAN. We are very glad to have that.

(The document referred to is as follows:)

STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, A. F. OF L., TO THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE ECONOMIC REPORT

Re: Low-income families.

State and local government employees fared poorly during the recent war emergency, which has been a period of substantial increase in the cost of living. In most instances, adjustments made in salaries between 1939 and 1945 have lagged behind the corresponding increases in the cost of living and consequently, at the end of the war, living standards of many State and local government employees were below the level of 1939. Since the end of 1945 the position of public employees has further deteriorated both in relation to cost of living and the trend of earnings of other income groups. Workers in private industry have had three full rounds of wage increases since early 1946, and the fourth is now in full swing. By contrast, few employees in State and local government have received even three rounds of salary adjustments; many received only two and some only one or no adjustment at all.

Between 1939 and 1948 the average per capita income for the United States of America went up over 160 percent compared to an average increase of only 66 percent in the salaries of nonschool State and local government employees. Making allowance for the rise in prices during this period, we find that the average American enjoys today a standard of living which is 50 percent better than that of 1939, while public employees are actually worse off today than they were in 1939. (See chart and table found on pp. 576 and 575 respectively.) In other words, public employees have had no share in the general advance of the standard of living which has occurred in this country during the last decade. The niggardly treatment of public employees must give cause for serious concern because the low level of pay, in addition to entailing all the undesirable consequences of substandard pay, also endangers the ability of State and local government to perform its vital services in an efficient manner.

Instances of low pay in State and local government are numerous, and the following list taken at random from the files of this federation will serve only as an indication of the great extent of substandard pay in the public service:

State School for Feeble Minded at Redfield, S. Dak. :1

Ward attendant__

Drivers--

Telephone operators..
Nurse----.

See footnote on next page.

30 to 33 cents per hour.

58 cents per hour.
39 to 47 cents per hour.
40 to 44 cents per hour.

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