When students returned to school on the Peninsula in the past week, many arrived without lunch, or lunch money.
Some hadn’t eaten breakfast.
“We make sure all the students eat,” said Gail Frick, Port Angeles School District interim business manager.
“It makes an unbelievable difference if they eat a good breakfast,” Frick said.
Port Angeles and other public schools provide breakfast and lunch meals every school day that are controlled by a “Fit Food” committee for healthy diet standards, she said, adding that there is no junk food in the cafeterias.
For a lot of families
The free and reduced-price lunch program is not only for families on food stamps or public assistance, but also for those whose family may be reduced to one paycheck or part-time pay or who are otherwise struggling to pay the bills, Frick said.
“There is a need out there,” Frick said.
“I would hope that anyone who qualifies would register.”
A family of four earning less than $41,348 qualifies for reduced-price meals, which cost 40 cents per meal.
Apply any time
Families can apply at any time of the year, Frick said.
All students are given an application at the beginning of the school year, but circumstances can change midyear, she said.
Parents can get or turn in applications at their children’s school office or at their district offices.
It takes five to 10 days for the application to be processed and for children to begin receiving free or reduced-price meals.
There is no way other students can tell which students are on the free or reduced-price lunch program and who pays for their lunches, Frick said.
All students type in their student code on a keypad to pay for meals, and free and reduced-price meal recipients have the same selection of food as students who pay full price.
For those not on the free or reduced-price lunch program, the code accesses funds that are paid for by their parents.
Reduced-price meals entitle children kindergarten through third grade breakfast and lunch at no cost.
Eligible fourth- through 12th-grade students receive breakfast at no cost and lunch for 40 cents.
Full-price meals
Full-price breakfasts are $1 for preschool through sixth-graders and $1.25 for middle and high school students.
Full-price elementary school lunches cost $2; middle and high school lunches cost $2.25.
The 2010-2011 school year shows about 60 percent of Port Angeles School District elementary students qualified for the free and reduced-price meal program.
The district is still working on the 2011-2012 school year applications.
The program doesn’t hurt school budgets, Frick said.
Food programs are paid for through state and federal funding and are not a drain on district general funds.
Some grants and other programs are made available only to schools with a high number of students on free and reduced-price meals, she said.
The program has been around for a long time. The National School Lunch Act was signed by President Harry Truman in 1946.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
