The U.S. Department of Agriculture is advising unemployed workers that their school-age children may be eligible for free or reduced-price breakfasts and lunches.
Eligibility is based on weekly household income. The only child of a single parent is eligible if the weekly household income is $519 or less. Children in a family of four are eligible if the weekly household income is $785 or less.
More than 66,000 Idahoans were out of work in August, and about 38,000 of them were receiving weekly benefits ranging from $90 to $387, including a temporary $25 supplement from the federal government. The average weekly benefit is about $280 a week. A year ago, fewer than 40,000 workers were jobless.
In the last year, the Idaho economy has lost over 48,000 jobs, and more than $11 million a week in state and federal jobless benefits is currently being disbursed.
The National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program were created to provide affordable and nutritious meals to all children.
These programs, Child Nutrition Division Director Cynthia Long said, “can be a valuable resource for households affected by unemployment.”
Although schools typically send school meal applications home at the beginning of the school year, unemployed workers can apply any other time by submitting a household application directly to their schools. More information is available by contacting the specific school children are attending.
The income limits for eligibility are:
|
Household Size
|
Weekly Income
|
|
2
|
$519
|
|
3
|
$652
|
|
4
|
$785
|
|
5
|
$918
|
|
6
|
$1,051
|
|
7
|
$1,184
|
|
8
|
$1,317
|
| |
|
|