Akin Opposes Federal Involvement in School Lunches

SEDALIA, Mo. -- Republican U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin openly questioned whether the federal government should be involved in funding school meal programs.

Speaking to reporters during the Governor's Ham Breakfast at the Missouri State Fair on Thursday, Akin said the program should be handled at the state level, not the federal level.

"There's another good question of who should be doing that," he said. "Is that something the federal government should be doing? I answer it no -- why not do it at the state level?"

The school lunch program is part of the farm bill, which Akin has never supported in his 12 years in congress. Akin said he opposes the legislation because much of it -- "80 percent," he said -- isn't a farm bill at all."

Akin suggested the farm bill be broken into two parts: one directly pertaining to farmers, and the other pertaining to the nutritional assistance program.

"They're separate things and each should set on their own base logically," he said in an interview later in the day. "If you do, you'll end up with two better bills than when you smash them together."

Speaking with reporters later, his Democratic opponent, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, said: "The notion that the federal government should stop giving support to help feed children is a nonstarter with me. It is not like our schools are sitting on piles of cash right now."

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 646,000 Missouri students take advantage of the school lunch program. Nationally, the program costs taxpayers $11 billion.