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October 1, 2008

Numbers up in schools’ meal programs

By Cristin Ross

cross@jacksonvilleprogress.com

With the national economy in a slump, it’s not surprising that several local school districts are reporting the number of students participating in the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs are up.

Jacksonville, Bullard, Rusk and Alto school districts are serving more than half their students free or reduced-priced breakfasts and lunches. School officials cite increasing enrollment and local economic factors as reasons numbers are up.

“We’re up this year by 276 students,” said Clay Carter, JISD Food Service director. “And, we’re expecting those numbers to stay up through the school year.

“We’ve always had high participation, but we’ve had some factories shut down here recently, so that may be causing us to serve a few more meals than we have been,” he said.

Carter said the district is also taking advantage of a new state service, the Direct Certification list, to make sure no student who qualifies for the national meal programs is left out.

“We’ve extended the deadline for students to apply for the services to Oct. 6,” Carter said. “We want to make sure every application gets in and is processed, so these kids can get their meals. If a family’s circumstances change during the school year, and they need to enroll in the programs, they can still fill out an application after the deadline. We’ll work with them in every way possible.

“No child is going hungry on my watch,” Carter said.

Bullard Food Service Director Tonya McFarland said meal program participation is up, not only because enrollment is up, but also because the district’s cafeterias are offering a new and improved menu.

“I think the students are liking our new selections this year,” McFarland said. “We’ve got a chicken breast sandwich that’s a lot like Chic-fil-a, in regular and spicy, that’s really popular; a Philly cheesesteak stuffer that’s going over well and interestingly enough our salads are strong sellers, too.”

About 65 percent of Bullard’s student body participates in the national meal programs. Students may apply for the programs at any time during the school year.

In both Rusk and Alto, participation numbers are about the same, although both districts report serving well over half the districts’ students.

“We serve about 70 percent of our student body,” said Donnita Lucas, AISD Food Service director. “Our enrollment stayed about the same this year.”

RISD Food Service Director Barbara McCreight said she expects numbers in her district to pick up as the school year progresses.

“We’re getting settled into the school year now, and we usually see a little bit of a rise,” she said.

When asked if she thought more students would enroll because of the state of the economy, she replied, “It’s hard to make that call, but we’re ready to serve anyone who applies and qualifies.”

Data for New Summerfield ISD were unavailable as of Tuesday.

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