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BusinessAUDIO Fewer Students Brown Bagging It
2/23/2009 3:43:17 AM | Lindsay McCoy
As the Akron Public School district feels the pinch of rising food and transportation costs, they are faced with feeding more mouths with less.
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The district has noticed an increase of families seeking assistance from the free and reduced School Meal Programs. Applications are up for the Free School Meal Program this year, especially for the lunches at a reduced price of 40 cents per meal.
Laura Kepler, coordinator for child nutrition, credits the increase in the reduced category to families who are watching their cash flow slow down.
"Those would be families that have some income, but maybe it's less than it has been in the past," she said.
LISTEN To Kepler Talk About The IncreaseMany families are contacting the office to apply for the first time and Kepler also noted a jump in the number of students taking advantage of the free breakfast program. Some students who are now grabbing a milk or juice and picking out their morning meal each day, could have eaten for free before the economy turned sour.
The district is feeding about 1,100 more students per day this year, in comparison to the 2007-2008 school year. As of December, the district was feeding a total of 23,943 students.
"In the cafeteria, the employees are even noticing that kids are just more hungry, there's a lot less food left on the plates," Kepler said.
Reimbursement funds from the government are supposed to cover the expenses for each free student meal, but Debra Foulk, executive director of business affairs, explains that's not the case anymore.
"With the increase we have seen in food, transportation and other costs, it no longer necessarily meets that," she said.
While the district does pay for the cost of labor and the program upfront, Foulk said it's a challenge to also offer a variety of healthy choices.
"So you're trying to make sure that you're putting a menu together that is cost effective and nutritious, and it's getting harder and harder to do that," she said.
From grains breads to an array of meats to select from, Foulk expressed the importance of teaching students about including a balanced diet in their daily lives.
"We're not only teaching our children how well to do their nutrition, but also portion control."
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Comments
posted at 2/23/2009 7:45:42 AM (5653)
forcedinakron said:
Cut from the top to provide to the bottom!! Maybe they will hire a private firm to oversee the increase of usage, Thats good spending!! Didnt they see this coming I did and I dont work there. It is going to get worse before it gets better!
posted at 2/23/2009 8:37:14 AM (5654)
historybuff said:Creating more in-roads into the lives of families. Be
cautious, they can use this as a means of 'tracking'
family finances, indirectly of course. A number of ways
helps or hurts the district. They can use this to garner support for tax increases in a district that already has fewer tax resources (circular isn't it) or
hitting up Uncle Sugar for some more 'bailout' funds.
Either way, if the story is true, this spells misery
for a lot of families.
posted at 2/23/2009 8:57:07 AM (5657)
forcedinakron said:
Good point. You are definitely right!
posted at 2/23/2009 9:13:27 AM (5658)
misstia said:well they could save some money by getting rid of their nutritionist! do you know they give grade school students a 'super donut' for breakfast sometimes? apparently it's vitamin fortified...but wouldn't that lead kids to think all donuts are good?
how much is oatmeal? put some cinnamon and raisins on it and it's good...some apples on it too....good nutritious breakfast and reasonably priced!
posted at 2/23/2009 10:18:30 AM (5661)
cruisemeister said:
This not a problem exclusive to Akron. Every school district in this country is seeing the same type of increase in assistance.
posted at 2/23/2009 1:05:25 PM (5672)
pooh23 said:
My daughter gets free lunches. I wouldn't know how I would afford to buy or pack a lunch everyday!
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