Federal nutrition program participation rates high in rural areas, but many eligibles still not reached

One-third of federal expenditures go to four nutrition programs designed to help feed poor children, but as Congress prepares to renew the programs' funding rural demographics may factor in their decision. "The largest numbers of low-income families eligible for the programs live in urban areas; however, the proportion of families who are income-eligible is higher in rural areas," says a new report from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.
An estimated 29 percent of rural families with children participate in one of the four programs, the National School Lunch Program; the School Breakfast Program; the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program; and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. An estimated 20 percent of rural families with children participate in two or more of the programs, Carsey reports. "When suburban and central city rates are combined into a metro area average, participation in the School Breakfast Program and WIC is almost 50 percent higher in rural than in metro areas," the report says.

Even with the high participation rates in rural America, a large portion of the eligible population doesn't participate. Of of the estimated 2.8 million income-eligible rural households with children, about 43 percent do not participate in any of the four child nutrition programs, Carsey reports. "Nonparticipation ranges from approximately 1.5 million for the National School Lunch Program (55 percent of those eligible) to 2.6 million (92 percent) for the Child and Adult Care Food Program," Carsey writes. The report suggests poor transportation, schools not meeting eligibility requirements and high operating costs for small rural schools are factors in the low participation rates. (Read more)