# Public Law 90-302 *1968 U.S. statute that added Section 13, "Special Food Service Program for Children," to the National School Lunch Act* **Public Law 90-302** (82 Stat. 117), approved May 8, 1968, is an act of Congress amending the [[National School Lunch Act]]. Its long title describes it as an act "to strengthen and expand food service programs for children."[^1] It inserted a new Section 13 into that Act under the heading "SPECIAL FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN" (the [[Special Food Service Program for Children]]).[^2] The project's research dossier identifies Section 13 as the single statutory parent of both the [[Child and Adult Care Food Program]] (CACFP) and the [[Summer Food Service Program]] (SFSP).[^2] President Johnson signed the act while [[Orville Freeman]] of [[Minneapolis]] was [[Secretary of Agriculture]]. Freeman held that office from January 21, 1961, to January 20, 1969, a period that includes May 8, 1968.[^1][^3][^4][^5] In [[Minnesota]], CACFP and SFSP are administered by the [[Minnesota Department of Education]] (MDE).[^6] A June 2024 special review by the [[Office of the Legislative Auditor (Minnesota)]] found that MDE "failed to act on warning signs known to the department prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic."[^7] On May 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a sentence of 500 months for the ringleader of the [[Feeding Our Future]] case, which involved a sponsor in the [[Federal Child Nutrition Program]].[^8][^9] ## Who - Congress enacted Public Law 90-302, and President Johnson signed it on May 8, 1968.[^1] - Orville Lothrop Freeman of Minneapolis was Secretary of Agriculture on the date of enactment.[^3][^4][^5] - The Legislative Auditor states that MDE "is responsible for administering these programs in Minnesota," meaning CACFP and SFSP.[^6] - The Department of Justice describes Feeding Our Future as "a nonprofit organization that was a sponsor participating in the Federal Child Nutrition Program."[^8] - On January 28, 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota announced guilty pleas by a co-owner of [[Safari Restaurant]] and by co-defendant Abdi Nur Salah. Salah was a former senior aide to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.[^10] ## What - Section 13 authorized meals served through "private, nonprofit institutions or public institutions, such as child day-care centers, settlement houses, or recreation centers."[^11] - The Legislative Auditor's review names "the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)" as the programs at issue in its oversight of Feeding Our Future.[^6] - The Department of Justice release uses the umbrella term "Federal Child Nutrition Program" and does not name CACFP or SFSP.[^8] ## When - May 8, 1968: Public Law 90-302 approved.[^1] - January 21, 1961 – January 20, 1969: Freeman's tenure as Secretary of Agriculture.[^3][^4][^5] - June 2024: the Legislative Auditor issued its special review, *Minnesota Department of Education: Oversight of Feeding Our Future*.[^7] - January 28, 2025: the Safari Restaurant co-owner and Salah pleaded guilty.[^10] - May 22, 2026: the Department of Justice announced the ringleader's sentence of 500 months.[^9] ## Where - The Department of Justice reports claims across "more than 250 Federal Child Nutrition Program sites throughout the state of Minnesota."[^12] - The project dossier identifies a restaurant in Minneapolis as the single largest identified site. The U.S. Attorney's Office release on Safari Restaurant is the source the dossier cites for this.[^13] ## Why The act's long title gives its purpose as "to strengthen and expand food service programs for children."[^1] Several documented outputs are recorded in Minnesota more than fifty years later for the programs the dossier traces to it: - The Legislative Auditor found that the administering state agency "failed to act on warning signs known to the department prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic."[^7] - A federal sentencing release describes claims submitted through a participating sponsor.[^12] - One site "received more than $16 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.[^13] ## How - Nonprofit sponsors submitted meal claims to MDE, the agency responsible for administering CACFP and SFSP in Minnesota.[^6] - The Department of Justice states that the defendant "submitted these fraudulent claims to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)."[^12] - At sentencing, [[Judge Nancy Brasel]] told the defendant: "This was a fraud vortex and you were at the epicenter of it."[^14] ## How much - **Authorization:** Section 13 authorized "$32,000,000 for each of the three fiscal years ending June 30, 1969, June 30, 1970, and June 30, 1971."[^11] - **Safari Restaurant:** according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Safari Restaurant "received more than $16 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds."[^13] - **Total:** the project dossier, as of September 2, 2026, puts the total taken from CACFP and SFSP in Minnesota at roughly $250 million. It cites the Department of Justice, Legislative Auditor and U.S. Attorney's Office releases for that figure.[^12][^15] ## How many - **Sites:** more than 250 Federal Child Nutrition Program sites in Minnesota were involved, according to the Department of Justice.[^12] - **Convictions:** as of the dossier's date (September 2, 2026), the at-issue entry states that "the federal conviction ledger reads 68."[^15] ## In the at-issue record At-issue entry AI-Hennepin-001 (also catalogued as AI-001; see [[At issue 001 - On May 8, 1968, Public Law 90-302 added]]) sets the 1968 enactment beside the later Minnesota prosecutions.[^15] The entry draws on the project's Freeman dossier and makes the following statements: - Freeman's son had been the chief prosecutor of Hennepin County for sixteen of the preceding twenty-two years. - His office "brought none of the cases." - "the federal conviction ledger reads 68." - "The county ledger is empty."[^15] The entry is anchored to the White House presidential action *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026). The figures are the entry's own, not the White House's.[^15] The record documents the 1968 enactment, Freeman's tenure, the state agency's administration of the programs, and the federal prosecutions. It does not establish any relationship between the Secretary's family and Hennepin County's charging decisions.[^1][^6][^15] ## Notes [^1]: United States 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) — long title and date of approval. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-82/pdf/STATUTE-82-Pg117.pdf [^2]: United States 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) — adds NSLA §13 under the heading "SPECIAL FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN"; cited by the project's Freeman dossier (Sept. 2, 2026) for §13 as the statutory parent of CACFP and SFSP. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-82/pdf/STATUTE-82-Pg117.pdf [^3]: Miller Center, essay on Orville Freeman as Secretary of Agriculture, Kennedy administration — Freeman's tenure beginning January 21, 1961. https://millercenter.org/president/kennedy/essays/freeman-1961-orville-secretary-of-agriculture [^4]: Miller Center, essay on Orville Freeman as Secretary of Agriculture, Johnson administration — Freeman's continued tenure through January 20, 1969. https://millercenter.org/president/lbjohnson/essays/freeman-1963-secretary-of-agriculture [^5]: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, *Officials of the Kennedy Administration* — Freeman as Secretary of Agriculture. https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/life-of-john-f-kennedy/fast-facts-john-f-kennedy/officials-of-the-kennedy-administration [^6]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Minnesota Department of Education: Oversight of Feeding Our Future*, Special Review (June 2024) — names CACFP and SFSP; MDE "is responsible for administering these programs in Minnesota." https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/pdf/2024-mdefof.pdf [^7]: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Minnesota Department of Education: Oversight of Feeding Our Future*, Special Review (June 2024) — finding that MDE "failed to act on warning signs known to the department prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic." https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/pdf/2024-mdefof.pdf [^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *Feeding Our Future Ringleader Sentenced to 500 Months* (May 22, 2026) — describes Feeding Our Future as "a nonprofit organization that was a sponsor participating in the Federal Child Nutrition Program"; does not name CACFP or SFSP. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/feeding-our-future-ringleader-sentenced-500-months [^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *Feeding Our Future Ringleader Sentenced to 500 Months* (May 22, 2026) — sentence of 500 months and date of announcement. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/feeding-our-future-ringleader-sentenced-500-months [^10]: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, *Former Minneapolis Mayoral Aide and Safari Restaurant Co-Owner Both Plead Guilty* (Jan. 28, 2025) — guilty pleas; co-defendant Abdi Nur Salah a former senior aide to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/former-minneapolis-mayoral-aide-and-safari-restaurant-co-owner-both-plead-guilty-250 [^11]: United States 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) — §13 authorization of $32,000,000 per fiscal year for FY1969–1971 and the eligible institutions. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-82/pdf/STATUTE-82-Pg117.pdf [^12]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *Feeding Our Future Ringleader Sentenced to 500 Months* (May 22, 2026) — claims "submitted … to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)"; "more than 250 Federal Child Nutrition Program sites throughout the state of Minnesota." https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/feeding-our-future-ringleader-sentenced-500-months [^13]: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, *Former Minneapolis Mayoral Aide and Safari Restaurant Co-Owner Both Plead Guilty* (Jan. 28, 2025) — Safari Restaurant "received more than $16 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds." https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/former-minneapolis-mayoral-aide-and-safari-restaurant-co-owner-both-plead-guilty-250 [^14]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *Feeding Our Future Ringleader Sentenced to 500 Months* (May 22, 2026) — Judge Nancy Brasel's statement at sentencing. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/feeding-our-future-ringleader-sentenced-500-months [^15]: Minnesota wiki at-issue entry AI-Hennepin-001 / AI-001, drawn from the project's Freeman dossier §I (Sept. 2, 2026), anchored to White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (March 2026) — the entry's statements on the $250 million figure, the 68 federal convictions, the empty county ledger and the Hennepin County prosecutor's tenure; the White House page is the entry's anchor, not the source of these figures. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/