Nearly Half Of District 742 Students Receive Free, Reduced Lunch

ST. CLOUD -- The number of kids receiving free or reduced lunch in the St. Cloud Area school district continues to rise.  However, the increasing numbers have slowed.  District officials say 49% of the kids in the district are now in the free and reduced lunch program -- that's up from 48% last school year.

In 2005 37% of the students were enrolled in the program, and it was just 28% 10-years ago.

The Minnesota Department of Education says about one-third of the kids statewide are in the program.