Students On Free And Reduced Lunch On The Rise

WAITSBURG - The numbers of students who qualify for free or reduced lunches in the Waitsburg School District has increased significantly since last year, said Superintendent Dr. Carol Clarke.

The National School Lunch Program provides meals for free or for a reduced cost to more than 100,000 public and nonprofi t schools and residen- tial child care institutions across the nation, according to its website, www.fns.usda.gov. For school year 2012-13, those with a fam- ily of four people can get lunch for their school chil- dren at reduced prices if the household has an income of less than $42,643 annually. Those with a family of four people can get lunch for their school children for free if the household has an income of $29,965 or less annually.

The schools receive cash subsidies from the gov- ernment and some United States Department of Agri- culture food for each meal served. Those schools must meet federal nutrition requirements to get the subsidies.

The schools receive $2.86 for each free meal served, $2.46 for each meal served at a reduced cost and $0.27 for meals paid for at the full price.

The districts also receive subsidies for snacks provided after school.

Last Wednesday at the Waitsburg School Board meeting, Clarke informed the board that there has been a significant increase from last year in elementary and middle school students in the district whose families qualify for free or reduced lunch

Free and reduced lunch at the elementary school and Preston Hall are now more than 50 percent, Clarke said. The number has in- creased by 9 percent at the elementary school and has increased by 7 percent at Preston Hall from last school year. The high school re- mains at 28.3 percent of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch. However, Clarke said that numbers are never correct at the high school because the students are known to not return the required forms to collect this information.

Clarke told the board the recent increases reflect how the poor economy is taking a toll on local families. How- ever, because qualifying for free and reduced lunch is an indicator of economic need for many grants and programs that could benefit the school district, there is a silver lining, Clarke said.

"It's helpful on some lev- els," she said. "It may open the door for some grant opportunities."

The numbers of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch at the Prescott School District has have stayed the same, said Prescott Superintendent Bill Jordan.

"Our free and reduced percentage has remained about the same at over 90 percent," Jordan said.

The Dayton School District has also seen a jump in its number of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, according to numbers provided to The Times. At the elementary school, there hasbeena3percentincrease, at the middle school therehasbeena4percentincrease and at the high school there has been an 11 percent increase.