story by kathryn schiliro
photo illustrations by angelina bellebuono

It's a dramatic sign of economic hardship locally, and it stings even more in this season of having plenty.
Forty-nine percent of Morgan County's schoolchildren are part of the school system's Free and Reduced-Price Meals Program.
That equates to about 1,650 students, according to Morgan County School Nutrition Director Phyllis Martin.

Numbers don't lie
Ten years ago, in FY01, near 40 percent of students were part of the program. That percentage then hovered between 37 and 38 percent until FY06, when it broke 40 percent. Since then, there's been a steady increase, according to the state Department of Education's (DOE) Free and Reduced-Price Meal Eligibility database, available online at www.doe.k12.ga.us.
"(The number of students in the program was) usually about 1500 students," Martin said.
In fiscal year 2011, by the DOE's last official count (this fiscal year's 49 percent has been submitted, but not added to the database yet), more than 47 percent of Morgan County students were part of the program. FY2011 saw 1,598 of the school system's 3,356 students taking advantage of free and reduced-price meals – 1,451 students receiving free meals and 147 students receiving reduced-price meals. More than half of Morgan County Primary and Elementary School students were part of the program while 47 percent of Morgan County Middle School students and almost 39 percent of Morgan County High School students were in the program, according to the database.
Nationally, the number of students qualifying for the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program grew to 21 million from 18 million in 2006-2007 – a 17 percent increase – according to a Nov. 29 New York Times article, "Lines Grow Long for Free School Meals, Thanks to Economy," and all 50 states have indicated that the number of students in this program has increased. This information was based on data provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the organization that administers the program, the article states.

Qualification
In addition to – and as a result of – the economic downturn, more and more families are qualifying for food stamps. According to the New York Times article, the number of families with school-age children that are collecting food stamps grew from 12 million in 2009-2010 to 14 million in 2010-2011, and some school districts have taken to qualifying students for the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program through local food stamp agencies, a process known as "direct certification."
The Morgan County School System uses direct certification to sign students up for the program; this is done through a list sent by the DOE. In fact, according to Martin, about 35 percent of students that are part of the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program are signed up through direct certification.
(Homeless students – which can mean the students live in a hotel or their family may live with other families in a single structure – are also signed up for the program through direct certification. Martin says there are about 10 homeless students signed up for the program every year.)
Qualification for the program, even in Morgan County, also depends on income eligibility – a sliding scale based on the number of family members in a household. For a family of four, students qualify for free meals if the family's yearly income is $29,055 or less; for reduced-price meals, that number jumps to $41,348 per year.
Many of these "once solidly middle class" families have fallen on hard times due to the economic downturn and lack of employment, the New York Times article states, and some of "these formerly middle-income parents have pleaded with school officials to keep their enrollment a secret."
"We really are trying to qualify as many students as we can," Martin said. "We do have some limitations on what we can do as far as income. We strongly encourage anyone who thinks they may qualify to apply."
The Morgan County School System sends program applications home at the beginning of each school year. Additionally, applications are kept in the main offices and cafeterias of each of the county's schools throughout the year and at the county Board of Education's office so that newly enrolled students can apply.
At 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch, though, some students who qualify not for the free meal program, but for the reduced-price meal program can't afford the reduced cost.
"It sounds like a small amount," Martin said, "but when you really don't have it, it makes a big difference."
Martin, a member of the Georgia School Nutrition Association, says that organization is lobbying to eliminate the reduced-price category and allow those students free meals at school as well.

Cost
The Morgan County School System's School Nutrition budget totals about $1.7 million per year, Martin said, but there is around $400,000 in the operating budget from month to month.
Federal reimbursements total about 60 percent of the budget.
"Our program is subsidized, so we receive reimbursement for students who eat meals with us, and (we get) greater funding for free and reduced-price meal students," Martin said.
In Georgia, more than 499,000 breakfasts and almost 1.2 million lunches are served in school cafeterias, according to data found on the Georgia School Nutrition Association's Web site, www.gsfsa.com. The average cost to produce a breakfast meal is $1.53, while the average cost to produce a lunch is $2.35.
Nationwide, School Nutrition is a $10.8 billion program that provides 32 million lunches with 21 million of those being at free and reduced-price meals, according to the New York Times article.

Bottom line
Born from the 1946 National School Lunch Act passed by Congress to "support commodity prices after World War II by reducing farm surpluses while providing food to schoolchildren," the New York Times article states, the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program means food for children who may see little, if any, food later in the day or over the upcoming weekend or holiday. Some urban areas have even added free supper programs.
This hunger doesn't exclude Morgan County. Martin's seen it first-hand.
"Weekends and holidays and anytime there are school closings, students will come back and tell the lunchroom staff how glad they are to see them and how much they missed eating meals in the cafeteria," Martin said.

Numbers don't lie
Ten years ago, in FY01, near 40 percent of students were part of the program. That percentage then hovered between 37 and 38 percent until FY06, when it broke 40 percent. Since then, there's been a steady increase, according to the state Department of Education's (DOE) Free and Reduced-Price Meal Eligibility database, available online at www.doe.k12.ga.us.
"(The number of students in the program was) usually about 1500 students," Martin said.
In fiscal year 2011, by the DOE's last official count (this fiscal year's 49 percent has been submitted, but not added to the database yet), more than 47 percent of Morgan County students were part of the program. FY2011 saw 1,598 of the school system's 3,356 students taking advantage of free and reduced-price meals – 1,451 students receiving free meals and 147 students receiving reduced-price meals. More than half of Morgan County Primary and Elementary School students were part of the program while 47 percent of Morgan County Middle School students and almost 39 percent of Morgan County High School students were in the program, according to the database.
Nationally, the number of students qualifying for the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program grew to 21 million from 18 million in 2006-2007 – a 17 percent increase – according to a Nov. 29 New York Times article, "Lines Grow Long for Free School Meals, Thanks to Economy," and all 50 states have indicated that the number of students in this program has increased. This information was based on data provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the organization that administers the program, the article states.

Qualification
In addition to – and as a result of – the economic downturn, more and more families are qualifying for food stamps. According to the New York Times article, the number of families with school-age children that are collecting food stamps grew from 12 million in 2009-2010 to 14 million in 2010-2011, and some school districts have taken to qualifying students for the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program through local food stamp agencies, a process known as "direct certification."
The Morgan County School System uses direct certification to sign students up for the program; this is done through a list sent by the DOE. In fact, according to Martin, about 35 percent of students that are part of the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program are signed up through direct certification.
(Homeless students – which can mean the students live in a hotel or their family may live with other families in a single structure – are also signed up for the program through direct certification. Martin says there are about 10 homeless students signed up for the program every year.)
Qualification for the program, even in Morgan County, also depends on income eligibility – a sliding scale based on the number of family members in a household. For a family of four, students qualify for free meals if the family's yearly income is $29,055 or less; for reduced-price meals, that number jumps to $41,348 per year.
Many of these "once solidly middle class" families have fallen on hard times due to the economic downturn and lack of employment, the New York Times article states, and some of "these formerly middle-income parents have pleaded with school officials to keep their enrollment a secret."
"We really are trying to qualify as many students as we can," Martin said. "We do have some limitations on what we can do as far as income. We strongly encourage anyone who thinks they may qualify to apply."
The Morgan County School System sends program applications home at the beginning of each school year. Additionally, applications are kept in the main offices and cafeterias of each of the county's schools throughout the year and at the county Board of Education's office so that newly enrolled students can apply.
At 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch, though, some students who qualify not for the free meal program, but for the reduced-price meal program can't afford the reduced cost.
"It sounds like a small amount," Martin said, "but when you really don't have it, it makes a big difference."
Martin, a member of the Georgia School Nutrition Association, says that organization is lobbying to eliminate the reduced-price category and allow those students free meals at school as well.

Cost
The Morgan County School System's School Nutrition budget totals about $1.7 million per year, Martin said, but there is around $400,000 in the operating budget from month to month.
Federal reimbursements total about 60 percent of the budget.
"Our program is subsidized, so we receive reimbursement for students who eat meals with us, and (we get) greater funding for free and reduced-price meal students," Martin said.
In Georgia, more than 499,000 breakfasts and almost 1.2 million lunches are served in school cafeterias, according to data found on the Georgia School Nutrition Association's Web site, www.gsfsa.com. The average cost to produce a breakfast meal is $1.53, while the average cost to produce a lunch is $2.35.
Nationwide, School Nutrition is a $10.8 billion program that provides 32 million lunches with 21 million of those being at free and reduced-price meals, according to the New York Times article.

Bottom line
Born from the 1946 National School Lunch Act passed by Congress to "support commodity prices after World War II by reducing farm surpluses while providing food to schoolchildren," the New York Times article states, the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program means food for children who may see little, if any, food later in the day or over the upcoming weekend or holiday. Some urban areas have even added free supper programs.
This hunger doesn't exclude Morgan County. Martin's seen it first-hand.
"Weekends and holidays and anytime there are school closings, students will come back and tell the lunchroom staff how glad they are to see them and how much they missed eating meals in the cafeteria," Martin said.

Printed in the December 15, 2011 edition