[9/09/04)

The hot topic of school lunch has recently surfaced among parents in Johnston County.  For the past few years, the school lunch program allows parents to put X amount of dollars in their child's account.  The child is then responsible for memorizing their account number and spending the money at lunch as they see fit.  However, this year, if a child has no money in his or her account, the child receives a free lunch comprised of fruits and vegetables.  Parents are alerted of depleted accounts.

The county-wide program was implemented this year as a recommendation from a child-nutrition advisory committee.  Although it may vary slightly from school to school, the purpose of the free fruit and vegetable lunch is to provide a healthy alternative for children who can not afford the price of daily lunch.  The lunch is completely free—meaning no reimbursements are necessary the next day.

According to Crystal Roberts, Johnston County Schools' public information officer, "the majority of parents have shown their support for the program.  This program has also helped increase awareness of the free and reduced lunch programs which were already in place by twenty-five percent." 

Some parents are finding out the hard way that giving school-aged children the ability to charge lunches can sometimes prove to be dangerous.  However, with proper knowledge of how the program actually works, it can also prove to be beneficial. 

Some parents have complained of their children running out of money before they should, but there is a solution.  "Each parent is allowed access to a list of what their child is eating at school," says Roberts.  "Parents are encouraged to specify which, and how many, products their children are allowed to buy each day."  To have specific notes about spending put into a child's account, parents must call their child's school and notify a child nutrition staff member.

--4042.com Reporter, Stephanie Lee

This topic is being discussed further here!

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