the assistance of parent-teacher associations, and other groups. We had hoped that we could get some program going through the cooperation of parent-teacher associations in the local schools. Very naturally, however, the problem is always the greatest where there is the least amount of parental resource in the area. So it developed that nothing could be accomplished by relying upon this kind of assistance. It was then, in December, that I announced to the press that we would be pleased to receive contributions from the community to help us provide, to some extent, at least, for the number of children in the 11 downtown schools. We estimated the cost of this project for the full 959 children to be something like $30,000. Funds came in, in response to this request, with almost unbelievable speed. We were able to report to the Board of Education that we could begin the program January 7, 1959, and this we did, with the amount of money on hand, with approximately 244-I say approximately; I'm not being very precise, but I think that was the number-244 children whose noonday meals were being paid for from the donations received from the public and interested groups or organizations and so on.

We submitted a report to the Board of Education, illustrating how this program was developing. As of March 2, 1959, we were serving 698 children in 14 elementary schools. Three hundred fourteen were receiving bag lunches; 384 hot lunches in nearby secondary schools. Contributions sent to the needy lunch fund totaled, as of March 3, $14,063.22, from 694 donors. We have in balance, as of February 27, $10,497.86. We have been able, then, as you can see, to expand the program.

An evaluation of this project indicates that, first, it is feasible to operate the program by delivery of bag lunches and the use of secondary school cafeterias. This served, secondly, as the basis for the proposal which was submitted to the Board of Commissioners on February 18, 1959, which I have just outlined.

In addition to these steps, the Board of Education has taken certain definite positions on the problem of the needy children's lunch program.

On February 12, 1959, the Board approved a policy statement and plan for action. This was a unanimous approval of the policy of supplying from public funds lunches to needy children. I should like to submit a copy of this whole, if I may, for the record.

Senator CASE. May I ask a question?

Senator MORSE. Senator Case.

Senator CASE. Dr. Hansen, have you in your testimony, before I came in, or the other day, set forth the basis on which the screening is done, or the determination is made of those which would be eligible for receiving the lunches?

Dr. HANSEN. Yes; the screening is done on the basis of three major principles. First, the children whose parents are on public assistance; second, the children whose parents or guardians are receiving surplus foods. These are the low-income families with need for supplemental aids.

Senator CASE. Now, in the school which you cited, where your first screening resulted in finding 44 eligibles, what was the enrollment at that school?

Dr. HANSEN. I would have to give you an estimate. I would say roughly 400 or 450.

Senator CASE. In other words, 1 out of 10 was found eligible.
Dr. HANSEN. That would be about right.

Senator CASE. And would you state what change in screening requirements was adopted when that 44 was reduced to 21?

Dr. HANSEN. The problem then was to select

Senator MORSE. May I interrupt, Dr. Hansen? Also tell Senator Case of the third criterion. You mentioned the first two before he asked the next question. There is a third criterion he ought to know about.

Dr. HANSEN. The third one, Senator Case, is the recommendation of the school nurse or the physician that the child is undernourished and in need of assistance. The principal had the responsibility of selecting the top 21 or so cases when she was told that we could not supply the free lunches to the total 47. She proceeded, as I have said, through conferences with teachers on the subject, consultation with the school physician and the nurse, and visits to the homes of the pupils and conferences with parents or guardians, to further justify the child's participation. This amounted to a second screening. Senator CASE. A second screening, then, and possibly an examination of the degree of meeting the requirements?

Dr. HANSEN. That is correct.

Senator CASE. And that was done on a personal basis?

Dr. HANSEN. That is right.

Senator CASE. In one case, all three of the factors might have entered; in another case maybe only two, but the extent of the need or the depth or the intensity of the meeting of the requirements was the one presumably that the teacher used?

Dr. HANSEN. Judgment.

I think it should be pointed out

Senator MORSE. Senator Case, could I supplement this?

You said, as I recall, Dr. Hansen, that you were notified that there was this lack of funds to do the full job, and therefore, further screening was needed. If you had had enough money, would you have changed the original number, which I-was it 44 or 47?

Dr. HANSEN. Forty-seven.

Senator MORSE. Would you have changed the original 47?

Dr. HANSEN. I think not. There might have been some adjustment, as we actually got into the operation, some changing, even of school population. But the assumption is that the 47 children represent need.

Senator MORSE. In my recollection of the 1957 hearings, as I recall, there were some cases-I don't know how many, but enough so that there was comment about them-there were some cases where it couldn't be said that the wage earner wasn't earning enough in the home to buy the food if he would buy it, but the fact was that the school authorities found some homes in which they weren't getting surplus food, or they weren't getting public assistance, but who had a parental problem so serious that the children weren't being fed. is one thing to proceed with remedial measures in respect to the parents, but the problem still remains of seeing to it that those youngsters are fed. In those instances at that time, some of the witnesses expressed the view that they ought to have the authorization to see that the children eat while the Welfare Department proceeded with the remedial measures in regard to the parents.

It

Are there a sufficient number of those children so that you can say that discretion ought to be allowed the school authorities to see to it that those children get a free lunch?

Dr. HANSEN. I think very definitely. Perhaps in some ways, these children represent the most pathetic cases. For example, a family of eight or nine that I have been told of, where the father is a laborer and working part time, off and on, not making enough money to supply the family or the children in school. The supplemental feeding in the school was of great value to the children, and did assist, in a way, in meeting the economic needs of the family. Possibly, it could be argued that with some of this assistance, certain families could be kept off the relief rolls entirely. I realize this is a theoretical position, but it may be that this extra amount of help with the children, while they are in school, might make the difference between having or not having supplemental assistance from some other agencies.

I think the problem of need may represent improvidence on the part of the family; it may represent misuse of funds received from the public welfare. The fact remains that these children are hungry, and it is not in keeping with the American tradition to hold the children responsible for the sins of their fathers.

Senator CASE. This school where the principal made this survey, was it selected for some particular reason?

Dr. HANSEN. You mean selected for investigation?

Senator CASE. Yes. Was it representative of the situation throughout the District, or was it a school selected because there seemed to be special need there?

Dr. HANSEN. The Seaton School was 1 of the 11 downtown schools which we selected for the project, and these 11 were selected, as you may guess, because of the fact that they are in economically deprived areas.

Senator CASE. By what you have just said, you would suggest the conclusion that these schools had a larger percentage of need than the schools of the District as a whole.

Dr. HANSEN. Yes, sir.

Senator CASE. What estimate have you made, or what facts do you have, to indicate how great the need is? Is it in number, or can it be stated in percentages of total enrollment?

Dr. HANSEN. We can state it both ways. We made a survey of all the elementary schools, and asked each principal to respond to the question, how many children would fall in the three categories we have outlined here, and would represent need in terms of food at noon. The November report indicates that that number is in the magnitude of 7,134, or something like that, representing the city as a whole. This, roughly, is 1 in 10 of the total population-elementary population.

Senator CASE. And you have funds for how many?

Dr. HANSEN. We are now supplying the food to about 700 children and we expect that we'll have sufficient funds to carry this program through April, possibly May. If the money continues to come in, as it seems to be doing very well, we may be able to extend the program through the rest of the year. If money comes in additionally, we may be able to broaden the base.

Senator CASE. For the 700?

Dr. HANSEN. Yes, sir.

Senator CASE. And there are about 6,300 that you feel are not provided for?

Dr. HANSEN. That is right.

I think I have only one other item to complete the record of the action taken by the Board of Education with the Administration with respect to food services. That has to do with the plan I have already mentioned, submitted February 18, 1959, to the Commissioners, for the feeding of the needy children.

Mr. Chairman, without wishing to raise the question here, because my position is that of supporting the Board of Education, I think perhaps, as a part of the record of attack upon the problem of luncheon services to the elementary schools, I ought to indicate that we did submit a recommendation to the Board of Education for the establishment of it as a policy, the equipping of elementary schools for a general lunchroom service, and then that, after due deliberation, and I think with justifications, in the light of present conditions, the Board of Education, by a majority vote, decided not to support this recommendation at its meeting on February 18. This, I think, would complete the summary of actions taken by the Board of Education and School Administration since the 1957 hearing.

Senator MORSE. Before I call the next witness, I have a question. Don't mind my standing up here; I'm standing up for two reasons: First, I had too much lunch, and second, I would like to have some of the money that was wasted on these chairs go into the school lunch program. I can't imagine anything more uncomfortable than the chairs here in this several million dollar building. But that is another

matter.

Do I understand, Dr. Hansen, that you think a bag lunch program for the elementary schools is feasible?

Dr. HANSEN. We have, in fact, demonstrated that we can say yes to that.

Senator MORSE. I'm just asking these questions for the record, not to indicate my feeling on them.

It is true, is it not, that there have been nutritional studies made to show, from the standpoint of nutrition contained in the bag lunch, it is, from the dietary standpoint, or can be made from the dietary standpoint, as nutritious as a hot lunch?

Dr. HANSEN. That is the information I have. We might supplement it with a comment by Miss Swingle, who is the expert in this field.

Miss SWINGLE. I feel we can meet the requirements. There will not be as much variety. We have to face that.

Senator MORSE. But the thing about help and the thing about sustenance that will permit these children to do satisfactory schoolwork, recognizing the fact that when they are hungry, they eat, whether there is a great deal of variety or not-this is typical of all of our children-I'm just asking to have the record show, so there will be no dispute about it, that so-called cold bag lunches would would meet the nutritional needs?

Miss SWINGLE. Yes.

Senator MORSE. You would be able to supply this record either with references to studies, or with a memorandum that would support that finding, in case anybody in the Senate raises a question about that. Miss SWINGLE. I believe we can do that.

Senator MORSE. Mr. Lee, will you see to it that that is done?1 Now, on the point that Senator Case raised, and he and I had a whispered conversation just before he left the room, it is your testimony, Dr. Hansen, that as of this very date, a limitation of funds means that we have, by way of understatement, at least 6,000 boys and girls going to District of Columbia schools, in the elementary grades, that do not have enough to eat at noon?

Dr. HANSEN. I think that is correct to say. The general opinion would be that the child who comes to school with an inadequate lunch, in some cases having to go out in the neighborhood to buy a bag of potato chips, is not properly fed, and therefore, I'm willing to say that this is a conclusion that I could support.

Senator MORSE. Well, so that people reading this record will be certain that we have covered it from all angles, I am going to put it in another form. Is it your testimony that if we supplied a lunch to some 6,000 students, boys and girls that are not getting it, we would be supplying that lunch to boys and girls who, from a nutritional standpoint, need it?

Dr. HANSEN. That is correct. I would say that is justifiable. Senator MORSE. Of course, I'll have to say as a lawyer, if in the courtroom, I would at this point say, "Your Honor, I rest." But I can't do that. I have to get more material in this record, because we are more than trying a case. But I would pause long enough to say, that is our case. That is the case that the Congress of the United States and the Appropriations Committees in both Houses had better take a long, hard look at, from the standpoint of values. One of which is, of course, it is our responsibility to do for the people of this District what I am sure under ordinary circumstances in most of the communities of America, a city council or a State legislature would do. It is just that simple to the chairman of this subcommittee.

Now, let's move on. Is it your testimony, supported by your educational associates, that if we took these 6,000 boys and girls, and I am speaking about them hypothetically, and gave them a noon lunch, our educational records would show that we would have every reason to expect them to do better school work?

Dr. HANSEN. This we can say without any reservation.

Senator MORSE. It is true, is it not, and I am familiar with some of the studies, it is true, is it not, that there has been a considerable amount of educational research work done on the relationship between school lunches and the quality of work performed in schools by those who are the beneficiaries of such lunches?

Dr. HANSEN. I'm told that are not too many actual studies of this nature.

Miss SWINGLE. It is the general opinion that the adequate noonday lunch does make a great difference in their school work. However, it is very difficult to define it statistically.

Senator MORSE. Well, let's check the 1957 record. It is my recollection that in the 1957 hearings, there were citations to specific monographs and articles on this subject matter. All I'm trying to do here today is to bring this down to date.

Mr. Gulledge, will you, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Lee, check with the Library of Congress and notify them that I want a memorandum prepared by the Library of Congress that bears on this question as to

The memorandum requested appears on p. 178 of the hearing.