Republican Congressmember Paul Ryan has admitted a story he told to slam government food programs was based on a false statement. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week, Ryan recounted the testimony of Eloise Anderson, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Anderson claimed to have spoken to a child from a low-income family who expressed misgivings over receiving a free school lunch.

Rep. Paul Ryan: “What they’re offering people is a full stomach and an empty soul. The American people want more than that. You know, this reminds me of a story I heard from Eloise Anderson. … She once met a young boy from a very poor family. And every day at school, he would get a free lunch from a government program. He told Eloise he didn’t want a free lunch. He wanted his own lunch, one in a brown paper bag, just like the other kids. He wanted one, he said, because he knew a kid with a brown paper bag had someone who cared for him.”

It turns out Anderson never spoke to the child in question. The story apparently comes from the 2011 book, “The Invisible Thread,” which recounts an exchange from two decades ago with a homeless child who has since gone on to advocate for the government food programs that Ryan denounced. In a statement, Ryan said: “I regret failing to verify the original source of the story.”