This case concerns the implementation of five children's food programs in the state of California, including the school lunch program, the summer food service program (Summer Program), and the child care food program (Care Program). The ACLU represented the plaintiffs, including Tomas Alcaraz, of Latino Unidos Para Mejor Education (Lupme), as well as Robert Losoya and Jose Luis Ladesma of the Welfare Recipients League of Santa Clara County, who challenged the necessity of collecting recipients' social security numbers in the statewide administration of these programs. Specifically, the appeals concern challenges to section 803 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (OBRA). The defendants in the case included John R. Block, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Robert Leard, Administrator of USDA's Food and Nutrition Service.

The Alcaraz plaintiffs sued the Secretary, challenging the lack of regulations implementing the SSN requirement in 1981-82, and the regulations ultimately enforced, as violating the APA, the Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Act. The plaintiffs also argued that the collection of social security numbers for income-verification and eligibility purposes descriminated against undocumented immigrants.

The district court concluded that the Department's regulations concerning the Summer Program did not violate the APA, but that the admininstration of the Care Program did. Thus, the decision was affirmed in part, and reversed in part.