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Free, Reduced Lunch Participants Sought
C-T Photo With the economic downturn it would be natural to think that some of the Chillicothe R-2 School District’s struggling families would be racing to fill out the necessary forms to enter their children in the district’s Free and Reduced Lunches program. That’s not the case, according to Wade Schroeder, assistant superintendent. “We haven’t seen a huge increase (in the number of students enrolled in the program),” Schroeder said. He added, “It’s not the fact the people aren’t out there. They’re just not filling out the form,” he said. According to the School Nutrition Association (SNA), which represents workers who provide the meals, about 80 percent of schools surveyed are reporting an increase in the number of free lunches served this school year. The Free and Reduced Lunch program provides free lunches, or lunches at a reduced cost, to students whose families qualify for the program. To qualify for the program, parents must complete a form detailing their income and other personal financial figures and return them to their students’ schools. Forms may be obtained at each school office or at R-2 district headquarters. They may also be downloaded from the school’s website at www.chillicotheschools.org/lunchapplication.pdf. |
CAPTION: Dewey School cafeteria workers serve tacos to members of Julia Reeter's kindergarten class Thursday. Chillicothe R-2 District officials say Dewey School has the biggest percentage of the student body participating in the Free and Reduced School Lunch program. Cafeteria workers there serve about 460 lunches a day and more than 56 percent of the kindergarten and first grade students take part in the program.