Lunch money

By CAITLIN SULLIVAN/Staff

Kids line up outside the Damascus Middle School cafeteria kitchen doors, waiting anxiously for the 10:55 a.m. lunch call. About 53 percent of them receive free or reduced lunches, a figure that’s jumped 4 percentage points in Washington County since the start of the school year.

Although Damascus Middle School has remained steady at around 53 percent, Meadowview Elementary School jumped from 57 percent of its student population receiving free or reduced meals in December to 66 percent in January. Rhea Valley Elementary School, Valley Institute Elementary School and Holston High School also serve free and reduced meals to more than half of their student populations.
Washington County Public School Nutrition Programs Manager Elizabeth Francine Ivery said the number of free and reduced meals has held steady at 40 percent for the eight years she’s been manager, until this year.
“Within the past year it’s gone up 4 percent,” she said. That’s about 295 more students this year and she expects it to go up another percent by the year’s end.
Damascus Middle School cafeteria manager Darlene French starts cooking at 6 a.m.
“Here in Washington County we do a lot more scratch cooking than other counties,” Ivery said. “We want to utilize the commodities (free food from the USDA).  Prepared items are more expensive than commodities.  They know how to cook; it’s not a heat-and-eat sort of kitchen.”
During lunch at Damascus Middle School, French said cafeteria workers made the macaroni and cheese and brownies from scratch. Her cafeteria feeds about 92 percent of the students at the school.
“These are all my babies,” French said looking over the lunch hall.
When she first served lunch, 35 years ago at the Old Rock School in Damascus, the paper cards that each student carried clearly showed whether they received free or reduced lunches.
Nowadays it’s impossible to tell who has free or reduced lunch at school. Before each meal each student types in their personal pin number which logs in the computers data base whether they received a free, reduced or paid lunch.
“Nobody has access to their application except here in the central office,” Ivery said.  “It’s confidential information.”
Still there’s a stigma attached to it, Ivery said. And that’s illustrated by the numbers.
“(The number of free or reduced lunches) drops in high school because they may be embarrassed, a spillover from the stigma of what used to be from getting free lunches,” Ivery said. “Some people are very proud and they see it as a handout, but it’s not really, it’s making sure their kids have something to eat.”

How it works
The School Nutrition Program pays for itself and does not dip into the school general fund. Still the money falls under the umbrella of the School Board’s leadership.
Proof of eligibility is not required upon submission of an application, but 3 percent of the applications are randomly chosen each October and must show proof of income.
A family of four with an annual income of $40,793 or less qualifies this year.
Ivery said it costs $3.09 to prepare each meal. Of that, the federal government only reimburses $2.68 for each free meal and $2.28 for each reduced meal. Students who don’t qualify for a free or reduced lunch pay $1.85 in middle school and high school and $1.65 in elementary per meal.
“Times are very hard … so that’s kept us from increasing prices,” she said. “We’re trying to hold the line. Up to this point we’ve managed; we’ve kept our heads above water.”
The Washington County School Board hasn’t raised the price for paid lunches since 2006. The principals at each school determine at what time meals can be served. Elementary school principals determine how often a la carte sales—extra items students can purchase.
“Our reimbursements don’t cover the cost of the actual meal,” Ivery said.
Ivery said because she’s not actually reimbursed for the true cost of the meal, a la carte sales and the free USDA food the schools receive help balance the budget.
This year the school system has received $160,000 worth of USDA food. The amount of USDA food a school gets is dependent on the percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunches.  Because of the 4 percentage point jump in free and reduced meals this year, Ivery is hoping for more USDA food next year.

A tough budget year
“This is the most difficult budget year,” Ivery said. The current annual budget is $4.3 million. “So many people have lost their jobs. Pricing, fuel, deliveries, everything is rising.”
Ivery said she hopes the School Nutrition Program won’t have to face the same personnel cuts the school general fund is looking at.
“I’m hoping that we won’t have to let anyone go,” she said.
Ivery said that next school year the School Nutrition Program must pay for repairs on equipment done by county employees.
“Before our people have always done the work and we didn’t have to pay them,” Ivery said.
On top of that, Ivery said food supplies go up 8 to 10 percent annually and insurance benefits may increase.
“It’s a juggling act,” Ivery said.

Adjusting to changes
“We used to have salt on the line, but we took it out this year,” French said.
She said kids complained at first but soon got used to it.
The percentage of fat and sodium in each meal is now regulated.
“We cut back on sodium and fat and the manufacturer has to adjust their products so we can buy them, but a lot of time they then charge more,” Ivery said.
Ivery makes the menus but the manager of each cafeteria has leeway to use the USDA food first.
“The more (food) we use and not have to buy the better,” Ivery said.
Everything is geared toward healthier eating. Some pizzas are made with whole-grain crust flour and low fat cheese. The French fries are now baked in most of the kitchens as opposed to fried.  There’s low-fat mayonnaise and dressings and more fresh fruit and vegetables.
For the first time Ivery allocated $5,000 this year toward the Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.
“I wanted to bring in more fruits and vegetables,” Ivery said. “It will allow us to get fruits and vegetables we wouldn’t otherwise get… like fresh strawberries and blueberries or plumcots (a mix between a plum and apricot). We want to promote things at school and that they might like and that may spill over at home.”
Ivery said she’s also working on a nutritional analysis of all menu items.

Need more numbers
During the Summer Feeding program the school feeds students in programs through parks and recreation activities and summer school. Although the USDA provides over $3 for every meal, Ivery said there aren’t enough students to make it worthwhile. She said the school nutrition program barely breaks even.
“It’d be great to increase the numbers, but there’s no transportation so that won’t allow our numbers to increase,” Ivery said.
In an attempt to increase Summer Feeding sales, Ivery said that the schools set up in Damascus’ town park two years ago. Fewer than a dozen kids showed up.
She also said her department has tried setting up a breakfast cart in front of the high school to catch kids coming in. A few years ago the school system allowed students to eat their breakfast during first period. Ivery said that although the changes increased breakfast numbers, some thought it increased trash too. So the program was soon phased out.
“It’s been proven that kids who are fed well are more attentive and there are less discipline problems,” Ivery said.

Up next
The Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act will go before Congress this year for it’s every five year reauthorization.
“I hope that more funds will be reallocated to the child nutrition program,” Ivery said.
She said she hopes the reimbursement rates will be increased by at least 35 cents.
Currently each state follows its own nutrition standards, Ivery said she’d like to see the Reauthorization Act include uniform standards for all and that the USDA regulate and enforce food and beverage sales outside of the cafeteria as well.
“When we’re talking about regulating childhood obesity it doesn’t make any difference if we’re trying to control it in the cafeteria if the kid can go out to a vending machine,” Ivery said.
As for this year in Washington County, Ivery said she’s working to increase lunch and breakfast numbers.
“In spite of what we’re up against our school nutrition program does a good job,” Ivery said. “We have very competent and trained staff.”