DES MOINES, Iowa, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- School districts throughout the United States are up against it financially as more students take advantage of free or discounted school lunches, officials say.
Sheila Mason, a public schools official in Des Moines, Iowa, said with students' parents facing financial troubles during the recession, students have begun eating school meals without having money to pay for them, USA Today reported Friday.
"When we're talking to parents, we're hearing that they lost their jobs, their cars have broken down," Mason said.
As of the start of 2009, nearly 4,500 Des Moines public school students owed $133,000 for unpaid meals.
Nationwide, the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service estimates nearly 19 million students received school lunches that were free or at a reduced cost in May alone. Figures regarding unpaid meals nationwide in previous years were not reported.
Nutrition director Lynnelle Grumbles of the Visalia, Calif., district told USA Today the rising school problem resulted in local schools limiting the number of free meals available to middle and high school students.
