Children of unemployed Idaho workers may be eligible for free or reduced-price breakfasts and lunches, and state and federal agencies are putting out the word. USDA Child Nutrition Division Director Cynthia Long said the food programs “can be a valuable resource for households affected by unemployment,” and the state Department of Labor noted that more than 66,000 Idahoans were out of work in August, up from fewer than 40,000 a year ago. Eligibility for the free and reduced-price meals is based on weekly household income; children in a family of four are eligible if that income is $785 or less.

Across the state, 45 percent of the school meals served to kids last year were free or reduced-price. "We expect to see that number increase as the economy is struggling," said Heidi Martin, child nutrition programs coordinator for the state Department of Education. "We're having schools telling us they're getting more and more applications for their free and reduced program." A few districts in the state already have very high percentages of their kids participating in the free and reduced-price program; in the Wilder school district, it's 93 percent. Numbers in North Idaho's biggest school districts are closer to the state average: 40 percent in Coeur d'Alene, 43 percent in the Lakeland school district, and 49 percent in Post Falls.

Though applications for free and reduced-price school meals are typically sent home at the beginning of the school year, the Department of Labor said unemployed workers can apply for the program at any time; they can contact their child's school for more information.

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