Just days away from the new semester, school administrators in Martin and Indian River counties say that last year’s unprecedented flood of students qualifying for free and reduced-cost lunches will likely expand even further in coming months.

In St. Lucie County, the situation is about the same as last year, with no improvement expected.

More formal statistics won’t be available for a couple of weeks – after parents complete all of the paperwork – but early indicators show a massive spike in eligible candidates for the federally funded National School Lunch Program in the two Treasure Coast counties.

Every August, school districts receive files from the state welfare office listing the names of families that qualify for free school meals based upon eligibility for other government assistance programs such as Food Stamps.

In Indian River County, the number of students on the list jumped from 1,800 a year ago to 2,562 this month.

“It’s a pretty big increase in just one year, and it gives us an indicator that we’re going to be seeing far more students eligible this year,” said Laura Roberts, director of food and nutrition services for the school district.

Percentage-wise, Indian River’s free and reduced-price lunch statistics have been on the rise for some time now.

During the 2007-08 school year, about 40 percent of the students in the county received meals through the program. A year later, it was up to 45 percent. And at the end of the spring semester this year, it had risen to 53 percent.

A similar shift occurred in Martin County, where the families qualifying increased by 43 percent in recent months, said Cathy Brennan, public information officer for county schools.

At the end of the past school year, the number of approved students on the list stood at 1,151. As of Aug. 5, the district had 1,650 students entered as Direct Certification, and the current number will rise as students continue to register, she said.

“And we have noticed a slight increase in calls coming in during the summer from parents that have never had their children on the program before,” she said.

St. Lucie County’s numbers will probably stay about the same this year, officials said. About 56 percent of the total school population – or 23,126 students – received the meal assistance at the end of the last school year, according to Assistant Superintendent Kathleen A. McGinn.

“In some schools it’s as high as 97 percent,” she said. “So we have had a high number for many years applying for free and reduced-price meals, and this year we expect to be no different.”

Financed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, the National School Lunch Program requires a family of four to make at or below 130 percent of the poverty level, or $28,665, to qualify for the free meals.

The threshold for the reduced-cost option – in which a student receives breakfast for 30 cents and lunch for 40 cents – requires a family of four to make below 185 percent of the poverty level, or $40,793.

Students who took part in the program last year will automatically be re-enrolled until Oct. 1, and parents must use the “grace period” to re-submit their paperwork.

All other children – including students new to a district and preschool kids – should be registered as quickly as possible to receive the benefits on the first day of school.

HOW TO APPLY:

In Indian River County: Applications will be available at all school orientation meetings, as well as in every school office and the food service office at 1426 19th St. in Vero Beach. After the application has been filed with the district, parents can call (866) 887-3409 to check the status of their case.

In Martin County: Parents can apply online at http://fns.sbmc.org (click the application link). Paper applications are also available from the school cafeteria manager or the food service office at 1050 East 10th St. in Stuart. Families with students attending any school in the district, with the exception of those attending Warfield Elementary and Indiantown Middle School, must complete a new application on an annual basis. For more information, call (772) 223-2655.

In St. Lucie County: The application for the program is part of the student registration process that parents receive when they enroll their child in school. More information can be obtained at (772) 429-6190.

THE PRICES:

Students receiving reduced-price meals will pay:

Breakfast: 30 cents

Lunch: 40 cents
Jason Kane, TCPalm.com

Tags: application, federal, food, free/reduced, government, parents, prices, Schools

This entry was posted on Friday, August 21st, 2009 at 10:06 am and is filed under Economy, Health, Indian River County, Martin County, Schools. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.