Image provided by Iowa Legislature

Free and reduced lunches are offered to students at schools across Iowa through the National School Lunch Program and one of the school districts with the highest percentage of students eligible is in the KCII-listening area. Postville is the highest at 99.7% and Columbus is number two at 77.8% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, followed closely by Storm Lake at 77.1%, according to figures from 2015. Eligibility is based on family incomes at or below 130% of the poverty level for free lunch and between 130-185% of the poverty level for reduced price lunch, according to the Iowa Legislature.

In the Washington School District, 40-50% of students are eligible, at Mid-Prairie and Highland it’s 7.4-30%. The two lowest districts in the state are Treynor at 7.4% and Solon at 7.9%.