Student lunch programs at both Bellefonte and Penn's Valley school districts have recently had to compensate for a decrease in available government surplus foods, school representatives said.

Dottie Houtz, food service manager for Bellefonte area schools, said her district now buys food from local suppliers to make up for the decrease in government surplus commodities they usually receive free of charge. She estimates the additional cost to the school at $20,000.

This figure reflects the dollar value of the surplus foods, such as vegetable, dairy, and bread products, which are no longer available, she said.

A similar trend was reported by Penn's Valley school district business manager Victoria Brumgarten, who said that the decrease in federal surplus had "hurt" that school financially. She said the reduction also contributed to a decision to increase school lunch costs from $1.05 to $1.15 per student.

State College and Bald Eagle area schools reported little or no losses in governmental subsidies during the past year, representatives said.

A spokeswoman from Philipsburg area schools, where the school lunch program has operated in the red for the last two years, said she would not blame the deficit on reduced subsidies.

"We are lucky that the government gives us anything. Without their help we wouldn't have a school lunch program," said the spokeswoman, Leona Reams. Diminishing enrollment at Philipsburg schools has also slowed the program, she added.

Federally-purchased surplus foods are distributed to schools nationwide on a need basis at the state level, according to Barry Shott of the state's Department of Federally Donated Foods.

Once received by the state, the food is allocated to schools based on their record of past consumption, Shott said.

Surplus food is designated as unsold meat, vegetable, dairy and grain products which the government buys to subsidize the farm industry, Shott said. Since 1960, part of this surplus has gone to school lunch programs as either entitlement or bonus items, he said.

Entitlement items are distributed by a price quota valued at 13 cents per meal and include staples such as meat and vegetables, Shott said. Bonus items are allocated based on a school's need and record of past consumption, and include dairy and grain products, he said.

Shott suggests that any major changes in food allocation may be attributed to the last summer's drought which seriously damaged productivity in the nation's grain and vegetable belt. Shortages in these items have cut the amount of bonus surplus foods available - meaning that the government buys less and the state receives less, he said.