Table 27.-FEDERAL FUNDS COLLECTED FROM NATIONAL FOREST RENTALS AND AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION FOR ROADS AND SCHOOLS, FOR THE 1951-52 SCHOOL YEAR

the title to the lands granted for their common schools, if situated within national forests, shall not be vested in the States until such lands are restored to the public domain. Consequently, any income from such school lands is received by the Federal Government rather than by these States. As a matter of justice the act then provides for the transfer of such receipts to the two States by the following provision:

A sum bearing the same relation to the total yearly income of all national forests within each State as the area of school lands within such forests bears to the total area of the forest is paid to the State for its common school.

Under this provision, Arizona and New Mexico have received the amounts listed in table 28, in recent years. Revenues from these school lands in national forests have increased by 88 percent in the past 4 years. These data were supplied by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Amounts for Arizona and New Mexico are also included in the receipts from national forests listed in table 29. Collections for one year are available for distribution to the States during the following school year.

These revenues for Arizona and New Mexico are for school purposes but have not been included in the summary table 4. Distributions such as are reported in table 27 have not been included in the summary since definite information on the portions for schools are not available. It is understood, however, that a substantial amount of the $13,974,027.19 was made available for school purposes by the respective legislatures, and that the remaining portions were used for the benefit of public roads.

Table 28.-FEDERAL FUNDS FOR SCHOOLS PAID TO ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO FROM INCOME ON SCHOOL LANDS SITUATED WITHIN THE NATIONAL FORESTS IN THESE STATES, 1942–43 TO 1951-52

Table 29.-FEDERAL FUNDS FOR ROADS AND SCHOOLS PAID TO THE STATES FROM RECEIPTS FROM NATIONAL FORESTS, COLLECTED DURING THE PRECEDING SCHOOL YEARS, 1942–43 TO 1951-521

1 These totals include revenues for Arizona and New Mexico, as well as amounts for other States listed in table 27.

THE SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM

During the depression years, Federal assistance for school lunches was initiated as one method of providing an expanding market for agricultural commodities. It was started under the administration of Public Law 320 (74th Cong.) approved in 1935. The Act did not mention school lunches specifically, but Section 32 provided for an annual appropriation to the Secretary of Agriculture equal to 30 percent of the gross receipts from duties collected under customs laws, to be used for several purposes, one of which was "to encourage the domestic consumption of such commodities or products by diverting them by the payment of benefits or indemnities or by other means, from the normal channels of trade or commerce or by increasing their utilization through benefits, indemnities, donations, or by other means, among persons in low-income groups. . ."

One of the activities financed by Section 32 funds was the purchase of surplus food commodities and their donation to States for distribution to non-profit school lunch programs, charitable institutions, and families receiving welfare assistance.

DISTRIBUTION OF COMMODITIES

The availability of surplus foods greatly stimulated the expansion of food services in the schools. As school feeding operations expanded, there was a steady increase in the value of surplus commodities donated to schools. During the 1941-42 school year,

school lunch programs received almost $22,000,000 in assistance in the form of donated surplus foods, compared with less than $250,000 in 1935-36, the first year for the operation of Section 32. After 1942, increased wartime demands for food reduced the need for Government purchases to stabilize agricultural markets, and the supply of surplus foods available to schools declined. To offset this decrease in assistance, in March 1943, the Indemnity plan was established. This was a program of Federal cash assistance for school lunches. Since that time, the bulk of the Federal school lunch assistance has been in the form of cash payments, to be used by participating schools to make local purchases of food. Assistance in the form of donated commodities has continued. In recent years, the amount of commodity assistance has increased markedly over the wartime level, reaching a record value of $55,188,960 for the 1949-50 school year. Since 1946, the commodities donated to schools include those specifically purchased for school lunch use as well as those acquired by the Department of Agriculture under its price support and surplus removal programs.

From 1935 to 1951, the value of commodity assistance provided by the Federal Government totaled $260,228,205. The values of commodities allotted to individual States for the 1950-51 school year are listed in column 6 of table 4.

SCHOOL MILK AND INDEMNITY PROGRAMS

The School Milk Program, established in 1940, was the first program of Federal cash assistance to school lunch projects. Under this program, the Federal Government as a means of removing surplus milk from the markets, reimbursed schools for a portion of the cost of milk served to children. A total of $2,066,660 was paid to schools during the 1939-40, 1940-41, and 1941-42 school years.

In 1943, the Milk Program became a part of the Indemnity Plan, whereby the Department of Agriculture reimbursed schools for a portion of the cost of the food purchased from local suppliers. During the 7 years from 1939-40 to 1945-46, inclusive, a total of $127,356,904 was allotted to schools under the combined School Milk Program and the Indemnity Plan. This is the total of 7 items in column 2 of table 30.

The School Milk Program, as well as the Indemnity Plan established in 1943, was financed by funds made available to the Department of Agriculture under Section 32, mentioned above.

NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH ACT

The Seventy-ninth Congress approved Public Law 396 known as the National School Lunch Act in June 1946 after 11 years of experience in assisting school lunch services. The express purpose

of the Act was "to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation's children and to encourage the domestic consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities and other food, by assisting the States, through grants-in-aid and other means, in providing an adequate supply of foods and other facilities for the establishment, maintenance, operation, and expansion of nonprofit school lunch programs."

According to the Act, apportionments of cash assistance of funds to each State educational agency are based upon the numbers of children from 5 to 17 years of age and upon variations in the per capita income. The use of "per capita income" accomplishes some equalization by allocating proportionately larger amounts of Federal money to the financially weaker States and the Act provides for a lower State and local matching rate in States having lower than the average per capita income. The Act requires that funds for school lunches be disbursed in each State by the State educational agency. An exception to this requirement is noted for funds allocated to the school lunch programs in private schools where State laws or court decisions do not permit the State office to make payments to private schools.

Funds allotted in accordance with the provisions of the National School Lunch Act for the past 5 years total $315,147,156. This is the total of the last 5 items in column 2 of table 30.

In addition to authorizing the distribution of funds, the National School Lunch Act provides for the purchase and distribution of foods to schools. This distribution includes surplus foods acquired under price support and surplus removal operations, as well as foods purchased specifically for the school lunch program under authority of section 6 of the Act. The total value of all commodities distributed to the schools, under this combined authorization, for the five school years from 1946-47 to 1950-51, inclusive, is $181,966,055, itemized in column 3 of table 30.

Federal assistance to the School Lunch Program has contributed greatly to the development of high standards for food services in schools, aimed at maximum contributions to the education, health, and welfare of children. With the exception of the program for education of veterans in the secondary schools, funds made available under the National School Lunch Act represent the largest Federal grant being allocated for any feature of the educational program.

Details regarding Federal assistance to the school lunch services in addition to those given in tables 4 and 30, can be obtained from the United States Department of Agriculture.

Table 30.-FEDERAL FUNDS ALLOTTED, AND ESTIMATED VALUE OF COMMODITIES DISTRIBUTED, FOR THE SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM, 1935-36 TO 1950-51

1 Includes $9,696,587 allotted to the States for the purchase of equipment for school lunch programs.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN AGRICULTURE

The Department of Agriculture cooperates with the Department of State on the Nation's policy of assisting other areas of the world to develop their resources. Most of the underdeveloped countries are farming areas and would be able to improve their economic status through agricultural development. For many years the Department has engaged in a program of exchanging agricultural scientists, technicians, and information for mutual benefit.

These activities are expanding. During 1950 the Department continued its cooperative efforts with the Latin American countries and broadened its activities to include the Middle East and Far East. In these programs funds were provided to help train agriculturists from foreign countries by arranging for them to visit American schools and agricultural research institutions. This program of sharing agricultural information constitutes an important contribution to the peace and progress of the world.

No figures are given here to indicate the amount of Federal funds expended in sharing agricultural information with the peoples of other lands. Amounts are included in the budgets of the several Divisions of the Federal Department and would be difficult to separate from expenditures for administration.