9486 in the collection
More students on free lunch programs
Ohanian Comment: Kudos to USA Today for publicizing this grim fact. Go to the URL below and you can see a map indicating the percentage change in demand for free lunches. For example, the number of children receiving free lunches in Vermont is up 10.18% from last year: 18,885 children in this small state. For California, the number is 2,093,995. That's up almost 17% from last year. In New York City, 73% of the students receive free or reduced-price lunches. Think about the pressures these families are enduring just to survive.
The media headlines focus on the bankers and the Wall Street crooks. Here, we see how the disaster they brought us plays out in the lives of children.
The article leads with a picture of the lunch line at an Indianapolis school where 100% of the children receive free or reduced-price lunches. Think of this as you see the White House negotiating with the bankers about salaries.
By Peter Eisler and Elizabeth Weise
WASHINGTON — Nearly 20 million children now receive free or reduced-price lunches in the nation's schools, an all-time high, federal data show, and many school districts are struggling to cover their share of the meals' rising costs.
Through February, nationwide enrollment in free school lunch programs was up 6.3% over the same time last year, to 16.5 million students, based on data from the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), which subsidizes the programs. Participation in reduced-price lunch programs rose to 3.2 million students, the data show.
MORE: School systems juggle cost of free lunches
Demand in some states has climbed at an even greater rate: Enrollment in free lunch programs jumped almost 17% in California, and several states — Arizona, New Jersey, Utah and Vermont — also saw more than 10% growth.
Many new enrollees are believed to be first-timers from families hit by the recession, says FNS Administrator Julie Paradis. "These programs are intended to expand when the need is greater ... and we're pleased that they're working," she adds. "But certainly there are additional costs, and that is a concern at a time of scarce resources. Our state and local partners are stretched."
In Jackson, Miss., where 86% of all students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, "some of our students show up for breakfast and haven't had anything to eat since lunch the day before," says Mary Hill, executive director of food services.
The federal government pays schools $2.57 for each free lunch served. (Reimbursement for reduced-price lunches is lower to account for the share paid by students.) But the average food and labor cost for each meal is about $2.92, says the School Nutrition Association, which represents school lunch directors.
School systems pay the balance, sometimes with state help, and those costs are exploding, says association President Katie Wilson, director of meal programs for Onalaska, Wis., schools. Increased demand, rising food prices and insufficient federal reimbursements are "a perfect storm," Wilson says. "We absolutely want every eligible student to participate, but schools are losing money on every meal."
Preliminary school lunch data for March suggest that February's record demand may be dipping slightly. Still, Congress should give "serious consideration" to boosting the federal subsidy during the reauthorization this fall of the Child Nutrition Act, says Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., who chairs the House Education and Labor Committee. "For millions of children, this is the nutritional safety net.
— Peter Eisler and Elizabeth Weise<
USA Today
2009-06-10
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-06-10-student-lunches_N.htm
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
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