In past 2 years, 33,000 in state joined federal subsidy program, many for the first time.
Across the noisy lunchrooms of Minnesota schools, there’s a quiet but growing sign that the economy is taking a toll on families that have never needed help before.
More Minnesota students are signing on for free or reduced-price meals, as middle-class families coping with cutbacks and foreclosures are becoming first-time users of the subsidized National School Lunch Program.
Reflecting a surge seen nationally, nearly 33,000 Minnesota kids have joined the program in the past two years. Nationwide, student poverty rose from 59.3 percent in 2007 to 65.3 percent in 2010.
“Middle-class families who never thought they’d be dealing with this kind of hardship and poverty are now having to face it,” said University of Minnesota economics Prof. Ben Senauer, who’s researched several metro-area school districts’ school lunch data. “This is the new face of poverty.”
Low-income students now make up 37 percent of Minnesota’s student population, according to state data — 306,294 public school students in all. While rising poverty has been a common trend in urban schools like St. Paul, where 72 percent of students get subsidized meals, what surprises experts is how it has spread to suburban and exurban schools.
“What’s been really stunning is it has been higher all across the state … even in the places you wouldn’t expect,” said Deb Lukkonen, state school nutrition program supervisor. “It’s alarming.”
As a result, communities are stepping up to help kids — even after the school day ends.
In Burnsville, teens fill backpacks with granola bars, applesauce and other snacks for needy elementary school children to eat over the weekend. In the Anoka-Hennepin district, every high school runs a food shelf so teens can easily stock up.
In Minneapolis and St. Paul, the Boys & Girls Clubs have opened five kitchens so teens can get a hot dinner after school, and Target and Second Harvest Heartland deliver food to eight schools.
National policy changes
The surge in the number of students qualifying for free and reduced-price meals has sparked major federal policy changes in the past year. Children who are homeless, in migrant families or foster care, or in homes that receive food stamps now automatically receive certification for free school meals. That cuts the red tape that lengthens the process and discourages families from applying for help.
While policy changes may have resulted in more students qualifying for help, “the economy is the big thing” and the main reason for increased numbers, Lukkonen said.
Students apply for lunch help confidentially and there’s no worry of standing out in lunch lines; everyone punches in a personal identification number.
via Hungry, needy kids swell lunch lines | StarTribune.com.
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