Subsidized school meals might skyrocket this year, By Tony Pugh, August 16, 2009, Modesto Bee: “The number of U.S. students who receive free and reduced-cost meals at school could soar to a 41-year high this school year, as record job losses and high unemployment push thousands more children into poverty, many for the first time. According to projections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, at least 18.5 million low-income students are expected to participate in the National School Lunch Program each day during the 2009-10 school year. More than 8.5 million are expected to take advantage of the federal School Breakfast Program. Both projections are about the same as the record participation levels that each program set last year. If rising family homelessness and steady growth in the food stamp program are any indication, however, enrollment in both student-meal programs could swell well beyond expectations this fall…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty