A rotten deal for schools? An assessment of states' success with the National School Lunch Program's in-kind food benefit

► The history of the school commodity food program is reviewed. ► Data from the US Department of Agriculture is analyzed. ► States often failed to receive entitled commodity food value from 2001 to 2009, resulting in annual funding losses for schools of $35-87 million. ► It is concluded in-kind food funding for schools is not desirable; a cash benefit should be considered as a substitute.