For a growing number of Georgia children, there is such a thing as a free lunch — and free breakfast and dinner too.
Recent expansions of the 70-year-old National School Lunch Program mean more schools now offer free meals to all students, whether or not their parents can afford to pay.
But some legislators say children whose parents can afford to pay shouldn’t eat for free.
"If those children who are getting a free lunch can afford it … then we can take those monies that we're spending on that program and spend it on other programs," said U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter of southeast Georgia, who supports a federal bill that would limit which schools can offer free meals to all students.
At issue is the part of the Obama administration's Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 that allows schools where at least 40 percent of students' families receive government assistance, such as food stamps, to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students.
Today, about 700 Georgia schools offer free meals to all students under the new program.
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