BY AMANDA MARTINEZ // Healthy cereals, fruits, mini pancakes, and other items make up a typical morning breakfast for more than 80 percent of the students in Emery Unified School District [EUSD] who receive free or reduced-price meals before, during and after school. However, this program is in trouble after State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced that state funding for subsidized meals is running out.
At a press conference last week O’Connell said that there is an increase of students accessing free or reduced-price meals and believes this is “yet another example of how the economic downturn is causing many families in California to turn to schools to feed their children and stretch their grocery dollars.”
Juliette Dunn, director of food services for EUSD, says she too has seen a noticeable increase in free meal applications in the last couple of months, one that is likely to bring the number of students who use the service up to 82 percent by the end of the school year. Currently EUSD students make up 30 percent of the program need for all of Alameda County.
Although Dunn confirmed that there is no risk of the program being eliminated she explained that it is likely that they will have to cut back on food variety and options. “We will keep it going one way or another even if we have to feed the students rice and beans,” she said.
Students from families with incomes below 130 percent of the poverty level are eligible for the free meals. For a family of four this means a family income of $27,560 or less.
“Meals play a major role in academic performance and school attendance,” says Dunn. She is also confident that the program, which currently offers fruits, vegetables, and freshly cooked foods, has more students eating meals and less processed foods.
This is especially important for the EUSD school population whose heavy African American and Latino population are at higher risk of diabetes according to the American Diabetes association.
Although the national school lunch program mandates that school lunches must meet federal nutrition requirements, decisions about what specific foods to serve and how they are prepared are made by local school food authorities. These decisions are often limited to budget. Dunn says they rely on state and federal funding to afford a variety of fresh foods.
For now the district will not make any move to lower their standards. Dunn says they will not make any changes until they hear from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Recently Superintendent O’Connell made a request to the governor asking him to adjust the California Department of Education budget by $31.1 million which would allow them continue to fund schools for the next two years as well as reimburse the program from last year’s shortfalls.
Dunn says the district is still dealing with the effects of when the state ran out of reimbursements last June and left the district to use general funds to make up for the difference.
If the school district is forced to make up for the difference again it will undoubtedly add strain to the current $200,000 budget deficit and impending mid-year budget cuts.
As of today, the governor has not publicly responded to the budget adjustment request by O’Connell.
