Free & Reduced meals on rise at area schools

More and more families are getting help feeding their children.  The Shelby County School District, overall, has seen a four percent increase in students receiving free or reduced meals.  Out of 38 schools, only one decreased enrollment in the federal child nutrition program.

Student said, “We had hamburger, fries.”

It’s the stuff of school lunches.

Student said, “And green beans.”

You remember those days.  And in these times more families are seeking help to pay for these meals.

Shelby Co Schools PIO, Cindy Warner said, “We’ve seen a roughly 4% increase.“

Here at Vincent Elementary in the Shelby County School District, free and reduced meal students number just over 60 percent.  That’s five percent more than last year.

Warner said, “Research has definitely proven that you can’t feed the brain, if you haven’t fed the stomach.“

That’s one of the reasons why parents are encouraged to fill out the paperwork to determine if their family qualifies.  With more families needing this assistance the stigma once associated with getting help paying for meals appears to be gone.  Thanks to lunchroom codes, no one knows who’s getting a free or reduced lunch.  In fact the information is 100 percent confidential.

Warner said, “The students all have a special code that they have to put in, the students don’t even realize that when they’re putting in their code it doesn’t mean anything other than they’re putting in their code.“

As more families qualify for the child nutrition dollars, schools do too.  All it takes is 40 percent of the population to make a school eligible for federal dollars which can be used for school equipment and teacher salaries.

The Shelby County School District also operates what’s called the “Backpack Buddy Program”.  For students who qualify, a backpack full of food is sent home with students for the weekend.  Local churches provide donations.