Frederick County Public Schools encourages eligible families to sign up for the free and reduced meals program.
Also known as FARM, the program was created in 1964 as part of the National School Lunch Program. It ensures students have access to food, even if their families are in a tight spot, while also helping the school system’s funding formula.
The program works by looking at the national poverty level and family size. Currently, a family of 4 would need to make $59,000 or less annually for their children to be eligible for reduced-cost meals. Alternatively, if the same family made $41,000 or less annually, their children would be eligible for free meals.
The Stigma
One third of Frederick County Public School (FCPS) 48,000 students take advantage of FARM. Despite this, Dr. Afie Mirshah, FCPS’s High School Instructional Director, says there exists a stigma against signing up. “There’s a tremendous sense of pride in communities,” Dr. Mirshah explained. “Families don’t want to be seen as taking a hand out.”
Dr. Mirshah served as a principal in Montgomery and Prince George’s county prior to her role with FCPS. She explained -even there- she always suspected the number of FARM students was lower than it should have been.
For many families, Dr. Mirshah said it can also be a matter of privacy, not wanting to share their economic situation with a school, although this can have unintended consequences. FCPS has other programs which look at a student's FARM status when determining who gets what. Some FCPS schools offer waivers for sports fees or even grants for drivers education training.
The Budget
The number of FARM students factors into how much money the county receives through grants and other sources. In an email, Heather Clabaugh, Associate Superintendent of Fiscal Services, said this can be broken down between the state and federal level.
From the state, the FARM count impacts Compensatory Education funding, which looks at the actual number of students using the program. On the other side, Concentration of Poverty grants are provided to schools with a FARM population of 55% or higher.
From the federal government, the program impacts Title 1 funding, which Clabaugh said goes towards solving the problem of FCPS’s rising classroom sizes. In short, that means the more eligible families sign up for the program, the more funding the school system gets.
The Red Line
Dr. Mirshah said a student will never be turned away at the lunch line, but sometimes their accounts may go into the red. A quick phone call can often resolve this as perhaps the parents just didn’t know. “But if we find that it’s not, and we see a pattern, then we’re going to try and do something to help,” Dr. Mirshah explained.
In special cases, a principal might choose to sign a child up for FARM on their own. While they may not have all the information a parent would, they can at least submit the form. This can ensure a student can get food while at school.
Dr. Mirshah said the FCPS community is a generous one, pointing to the All for Lunch charity that allows families to donate the cost of school meals for others who can’t afford it.
