During the school year in New Jersey, school lunch is provided at a reduced cost or for free to thousands of poor students to help eliminate at least one significant and widely recognized barrier to an education: hunger. The number of students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunches was up about 5 percent nationwide this spring, to nearly 19.4 million from 18.4 million the previous year, according to federal officials. These numbers were reflected in New Jersey's numbers as the number of NJ students receiving free and lower-cost lunches grew by 11 percent to over 340,000 during the 2008-2009 school year.

The economic downturn has left many families barely able to put food on the table, and school meals have been reported as a critical source of family food and nutrition for millions of America's children. But what happens to these children of low-income families when school lets out for the summer--do they just go without breakfast and lunch until September?

Thanks to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Summer Food Service Program, the answer to this question is 'no.' Across the state of New Jersey, camps and food pantries have geared up to meet an increasing need for more feeding locations.

Thousands of school food service workers in New Jersey are living at or near poverty, according to a new study from Rutgers University's Center for Women and Work. The study, authored by Dr. Mary McCain, addresses the scope of the problem in general, and then offers recommendations to fix these problems.

School lunches offer many children the only assurance that children of low-income families receive at least one well-balanced and healthy meal a day.

Despite their important work, New Jersey's public school food service workers are "struggling to support their own families," since their "pay is low, benefits are rare, and opportunities for advancement are limited."

The report found that the average hourly wage for food preparation workers in educational services was only $8.15, and revealed that many of these jobs pay no more than the NJ state minimum wage of $7.15. Many times, sick days are not provided, raising "concerns for both the health and safety of the students and the workers" when there is an "economic incentive" to "go to work while ill."

McCain's report offers specific policy recommendations, including:

1. Increase wages and benefits to a level to sustain families and to reduce reliance on state-funded safety net programs. This is key to raising workers out of poverty. Benefits, such as sick days "should be required," as "a food service worker should never have an economic incentive to go to work when ill."
2. Establish a state system for requiring and providing a "food handler permit" for food service workers: A permit, much like the ones provided by California, Oregon, and Arizona, would provide " a validation of necessary knowledge" by "ensuring that current and potential employees have certified their knowledge of food safety and nutrition."
3. Require that contracted food service workers receive training from qualified training programs: Training could include "information about regulations governing school meal programs, menu planning, and other issues in addition to food handling."

Thousands of school food service workers in New Jersey are living at or near poverty, according to a new report commissioned by SEIU Local 32BJ. The report found that the average hourly wage for food preparation workers in educational services was only $8.15, and revealed that many of these jobs pay no more than the NJ state minimum wage of $7.15.

The report, prepared by the Rutgers University Center for Women and Work/School of Management, ascertained that 64 percent of NJ K-12 school districts contract their food service to an outside company and that those private sector cafeteria jobs are largely part-time and typical offer with no affordable health benefits. As a result, most workers are uninsured or forced to turn to the state's public health insurance programs-- a result that contributes largely to the school food service industry acting as one of the biggest drains on New Jersey FamilyCare, as over 6,300 employees and their children covered by the taxpayer-funded state health assistance plan.