More parents aren't feeding their kids because they know schools pick up the slack

They already 'educate' them. Why not feed'em, too? Heck, why not just parent'em while they're on a roll?!

The Arizona Republic -- June 11, 2009

Schools across the Valley are measuring the depth of Arizona's downturn in the cafeteria lunch line: A rising number of students has applied for free lunches, and more parents are failing to pay what they owe on the lunch bill.

The percentage of students who received free lunches at Arizona schools jumped by 11.3 percent from February 2008 to February 2009, the latest month with data verified by the federal government, a USA Today analysis reported. Arizona, which had 394,977 students receiving free lunches, was one of only five states to experience double-digit increases. Three more states are nearly at 10 percent.

Areas within some states, particularly in Michigan and other rust-belt states, have experienced double-digit increases in the past, but it's unusual to see such big jumps for entire states, said Erik Peterson, director of public awareness for the School Nutrition Association.

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