By MIKE JAMES - The Independent
WESTWOOD — Considering the number of kids in her school district eligible for free or reduced-price lunches has jumped by 6 percent in a year, Jo Williams believes her recent trip to Washington was worthwhile.
Williams, the food service director in the Fairview Independent School District, just returned from a conference of the School Nutrition Association, where attendees met with congressional members and their aides to lobby for reauthorization and augmentation of child nutrition programs.
President Barack Obama has proposed an additional $1 billion to combat childhood hunger, and school food programs can use as much as they can get, Williams said.
During the convention they heard first lady Michelle Obama pitch her own initiative to combat child obesity and her call to increase the amount of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains in student meals, said Williams, who is administrative chairwoman for the Kentucky School Nutrition Association.
School food directors are trying to do that but fresh foods cost more, she said. In her district, the federal share of a free lunch is $2.68, but it costs the district 30 cents more per meal. The association wants the federal government to increase the reimbursement by 35 cents; that would help cover the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables.
The association is asking for expanding the free category to families with incomes below 185 percent of poverty, because the feeble economy has forced more families to rely on subsidized school meals.
Some students are going without, however, because their families can’t afford the reduced price, which is 40 cents, she said.
The association also wants expansion of after school and summer meal programs. “Hunger doesn’t end when the school bell rings, or when the school year ends,” she said.
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2652.
