School districts are reimbursed for breakfasts served to students. Rates vary according to whether the breakfast is free, reduced, or paid. This subsistence is used in the Food Distribution Program for improving the diets of school children. In addition to cash assistance, funds are appropriated to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase commodities for the lunch program, elderly feeding programs, charitable institutions, and for disaster feeding. Public Law 95-166, Section 19, enacted the NET Program to develop comprehensive nutrition education programs that use the school nutrition programs as a learning laboratory.
Funds are available on a competitive grant basis to school districts.
A team approach must be used in implementing the projects. The school district's food service director and comprehensive health education coordinator must participate as team members. A uniform financial management and accounting system is necessary due to the complexity of the programs and the amount of funds provided. The South Carolina School Food Service Program Reference Manual explains the procedures for accounting and reporting for the funds under these programs. As a result, the object account codes displayed above are header codes only and not the detailed object account codes which MUST be recorded by the district.