Vermont hopes to reach more needy students with free meal
MONTPELIER, Vt.—More low-income children will start their school day with free breakfast this fall.
The state will cover the family's share of the reduced-price meals - about 30 cents per breakfast, which supplements the federal government's $1.05-per-meal contribution.
About 7,500 Vermont children are eligible for the program but more than half do not get the meals.
Dorigen Keeney, director of research and public policy for the Vermont Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, says that may be because 30 cents is significant for families living on the margins.
She says, "About 30 percent of Vermonters reported they did not have enough money for a nutritious diet."
It will cost the state about $170,000 to cover the students' cost of the meals.
------
Information from: The Times Argus, http://www.timesargus.com/
rising
falling 