# Child Nutrition Act of 1966 *1966 United States federal statute establishing a School Breakfast Program pilot and reauthorizing the Special Milk Program* The **Child Nutrition Act of 1966** is Public Law 89-642, 80 Stat. 885, approved October 11, 1966.[^1] President [[Lyndon Johnson]] signed it and spoke at the signing.[^2][^3] The Act created the [[School Breakfast Program]] as a two-year pilot at §4. It reauthorized the Special Milk Program at §3 and extended school lunch eligibility to preschool children.[^1][^2] At the signing, Johnson described the Act's purpose in two sentences: "Thousands of children arrive at school hungry because they have no breakfast. This act provides for breakfasts at school."[^2] The statute frames the same provision more narrowly. Section 4 establishes "a pilot program to assist States through grants-in-aid and other means, to initiate, maintain, or expand nonprofit breakfast programs in schools."[^1][^4] Johnson's remarks open with "Secretary Freeman, Senator Ellender, Members of the Congress:". The American Presidency Project's editorial note records that "he referred to Secretary of Agriculture Orville L. Freeman."[^2] [[Orville Freeman]] served as [[Secretary of Agriculture]] from January 21, 1961 to January 20, 1969.[^5] ## What Section 4 of the Act sets up the breakfast pilot. Section 3 reauthorizes the Special Milk Program. That program originated in §204(b) of the Agricultural Act of 1954 (P.L. 83-690), not in this Act.[^1][^4] The record traces the later child-care and summer meal programs to a different statute. [[Public Law 90-302]], approved May 8, 1968 (82 Stat. 117), amended the [[National School Lunch Act]]. It added a new §13 under the heading "SPECIAL FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN." That section covered meals served through "private, nonprofit institutions or public institutions, such as child day-care centers, settlement houses, or recreation centers."[^6] The Institute of Medicine describes that program's descent this way: "In 1968, CACFP began as a small 3-year pilot program called the Special Food Service Program for Children."[^7] Both the [[Special Food Service Program for Children]] and its successors therefore rest on the 1968 amendment to the National School Lunch Act, not on the 1966 Act.[^6][^7] ## When - **February 2, 1961; April 17, 1963; August 31, 1964.** USDA's history of SNAP records the following sequence. Freeman announced food stamp pilot programs on February 2, 1961. He submitted proposed legislation for a permanent program on April 17, 1963. The Food Stamp Act was signed on August 31, 1964 as P.L. 88-525.[^8][^9] The project's dossier notes that Johnson's remarks at that 1964 signing do not name Freeman. In 1966, by contrast, Freeman was the first person Johnson addressed.[^9][^2] - **October 11, 1966.** The Child Nutrition Act was approved at 6:06 p.m. Johnson delivered his signing remarks the same day.[^1][^2] - **May 8, 1968.** P.L. 90-302 added §13, the Special Food Service Program for Children, to the National School Lunch Act.[^6] - **October 7, 1975.** P.L. 94-105 (89 Stat. 511) split §13 in two. Section 13 became the [[Summer Food Service Program]] for Children, and a new §17 created the Child Care Food Program.[^10] - **November 10, 1989.** The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 1989 (P.L. 101-147) amended the heading of §17 in §105(a). Section 17 now reads "CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM," the present [[Child and Adult Care Food Program]].[^11] - **As of the dossier's date (September 2, 2026).** USDA's own legislative-history pages for CACFP and the SFSP return an archived-content notice. The project therefore treats the [[Statutes at Large]] as the citation of record.[^12][^13] ## How much - The project's at-issue record (At issue 085) gives the breakfast pilot a first-year authorization ceiling of $7.5 million. The statute excerpts carried in the pack quote the purpose of §4 but not that dollar figure.[^1] - P.L. 90-302 authorized "$32,000,000 for each of the three fiscal years ending June 30, 1969, June 30, 1970, and June 30, 1971" for the 1968 program.[^6] ## In the at-issue record - **[[At issue 002 - Lyndon Johnson's remarks at the signing of the]]** (Hennepin package). This entry quotes the opening words of the 1966 signing remarks, which name Secretary Freeman first.[^2] Its anchor is the White House order *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026).[^14] - **[[At issue 085 - The Child Nutrition Act of 1966 created the]]** (Hennepin package). This entry sets the $7.5 million first-year figure beside a $250 million figure for alleged fraud against what it calls the Act's "statutory siblings" sixty years later. It calls that "thirty-three times the program's entire first-year authorization."[^15] The pack carries no filed court document or agency release for the $250 million figure. The program lineage documented in the Statutes at Large also runs through the National School Lunch Act rather than this Act.[^6][^10] ## Notes [^1]: U.S. Congress, *Child Nutrition Act of 1966*, Pub. L. 89-642, 80 Stat. 885 (Oct. 11, 1966) — approval date and time; §4 breakfast pilot; §3 Special Milk Program reauthorization; preschool lunch eligibility. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-80/pdf/STATUTE-80-Pg885.pdf [^2]: Lyndon B. Johnson, *Remarks at the Signing of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966* (Oct. 11, 1966), American Presidency Project — opening words, editorial note identifying Freeman, and the breakfast passage. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-signing-the-child-nutrition-act-1966 [^3]: LBJ Presidential Library, *Remarks at the Signing of the Child Nutrition Act* (Oct. 11, 1966) — library copy of the signing remarks. https://www.lbjlibrary.org/object/text/remarks-signing-child-nutrition-act-10-11-1966 [^4]: Social Security Administration, *Compilation: Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (P.L. 89-642)* — codified text of §§3–4. https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/comp2/F089-642.html [^5]: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (NARA), *Officials of the Kennedy Administration* — Freeman's dates as Secretary of Agriculture, January 21, 1961 – January 20, 1969. https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/life-of-john-f-kennedy/fast-facts-john-f-kennedy/officials-of-the-kennedy-administration [^6]: U.S. Congress, *An Act to amend the National School Lunch Act to strengthen and expand food service programs for children*, Pub. L. 90-302, 82 Stat. 117 (May 8, 1968) — new NSLA §13 heading, eligible institutions, and $32,000,000 annual authorization. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-82/pdf/STATUTE-82-Pg117.pdf [^7]: Institute of Medicine, *Child and Adult Care Food Program: Aligning Dietary Guidance for All* (2011), ch. 2 — CACFP's 1968 origin as the Special Food Service Program for Children. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209814/ [^8]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, *A Short History of SNAP* — Freeman's February 2, 1961 pilot announcement and April 17, 1963 legislative proposal. https://www.fna.usda.gov/snap/history [^9]: Lyndon B. Johnson, *Remarks Upon Signing the Food Stamp Act* (Aug. 31, 1964), American Presidency Project — Food Stamp Act, P.L. 88-525; remarks do not name Freeman. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-signing-the-food-stamp-act [^10]: U.S. Congress, Pub. L. 94-105, 89 Stat. 511 (Oct. 7, 1975) — split of NSLA §13 into the Summer Food Service Program for Children and creation of the §17 Child Care Food Program. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-89/pdf/STATUTE-89-Pg511.pdf [^11]: U.S. Congress, *Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 1989*, Pub. L. 101-147 (Nov. 10, 1989), §105(a) — renaming of NSLA §17 as the Child and Adult Care Food Program. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-103/pdf/STATUTE-103-Pg877.pdf [^12]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, *CACFP Legislative History* — dead link; returns an archived-content notice. https://www.fns.usda.gov/cacfp/legislative-history [^13]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, *SFSP Program History* — dead link; returns an archived-content notice. https://www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/program-history [^14]: The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (Mar. 2026) — presidential action cited as the anchor of At issue 002. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/ [^15]: The White House, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (Mar. 2025) — presidential action cited as the anchor of At issue 085; the pack does not show it stating the $250 million figure. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/