Education and the Economy: Relying on School Lunch

As we’ve mentioned before, the economic downturn has had significant effects on families and schools across the nation. With increases in unemployment, food prices, and energy costs, it’s no surprise that many families are relying more on services provided by schools, including free and reduced price meals. The School Nutrition Association (SNA) recently released a report detailing the effect of the recession on participation in school meal programs in the 2008-09 school year.

SNA collected information from 137 school nutrition programs in 38 states that included student enrollment, changes in student participation in free, reduced price, and paid lunch and breakfast, and factors contributing to those changes. The report also provides policy recommendations and collects comments from school nutrition administrators.

In general, SNA finds that the number of students qualifying for free and reduced price meals has increased in the majority of surveyed districts. At the same time, the number of students purchasing paid (full price) meals has decreased by nearly half. Overall, participation in both school-provided lunch and breakfast has increased in school districts by 60 percent and 69 percent, respectively.

The report also finds that the number of students with unpaid or overdue balances on their school meal charge accounts has increased in more than 50 percent of districts. These students are most likely to be enrolled in reduced price meals but are unable to pay the $0.40 price per meal.

Most telling are survey responses that detail the factors contributing to the rise in school meal participation. Nearly 85 percent of administrators said that the number of applications for free and reduced price meals increased in the 2008-09 school year and more than 60 percent believed more families were trying to save money by participating in the meal programs. Combined, these responses suggest that school meal programs are viewed as an important part of making ends meet for families during difficult economic times.

School nutrition administrators’ comments also reveal the strain the economic downturn is placing on school meal programs and the families that use them. Many comments mention difficulties covering costs for meals given low reimbursement rates and mandates for more expensive food items such as whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables. Many administrators also struggle to collect money from students and families who cannot afford to pay for meals or have maxed out credit cards with other costs.

Other comments mention students who skip meals, buy ala carte items instead of full meals, or buy meals less frequently due to financial problems. Several comments also point out that free and reduced price meal eligibility requirements inappropriately disqualify needy children right at the margin due to the high cost of living in certain areas and that fewer students are buying full price meals, lowering revenue available for free and reduced price meals.

In general, administrator comments paint a depressing picture of the 137 school meal programs surveyed. Districts that choose to serve every needy student, regardless of ability to pay, are digging themselves into financial black holes with little chance of getting out. Other districts are resisting raising meal prices to make them more accessible to a greater number of students, also undermining their financial stability. It appears that the current economic climate prevents meal programs from being financially independent. As such, many comments plead for increased financial assistance from federal, state, and local sources.

The SNA presents several recommendations in light of their findings. These include adding school meal programs to an economic stimulus package, eliminating reduced price meals and providing those students with free meals, updating the reimbursement rate semi-annually as opposed to annually, and creating a better index on which to base reimbursement rates.

These ideas are a good start to rethinking how we fund school meal programs in this economic climate. Given increasing demand for free and reduced price meals and the strain these programs currently endure, we expect such thinking to continue during the 2009 reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act.