FARMINGTON – School officials are reminding parents of children in school that if they have a change in employment status, especially if they are losing their jobs, they should request an application to see if they are eligible to have their children receive free or reduced-price meals.

SAD 9 Superintendent Mike Cormier said applications are available at the Central Office at the Mt. Blue Middle School and through the Maine Department of Education.

Any time there is a job loss, people should check to see if they qualify for the program, he said.

The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program that provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to more than 26 million children each school day, according to Department of Education Web site.

Of the nearly 196,000 Maine students enrolled in programs that have access to the national lunch program, more than 37 percent qualify for free or reduced lunch. About 57,862 of the students are eligible for free lunches and 14,942 qualify for reduced lunches.

School districts and independent schools that choose to take part in the lunch program get cash subsidies and donated commodities from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for each meal they serve, according to the Web site. In return, they must serve lunches that meet federal requirements, and they must offer free or reduced-price lunches to eligible children. School food authorities can also be reimbursed for snacks served to children through age 18 in after-school educational or enrichment programs.

SAD 58 Superintendent Quenten Clark said that there is no dishonor in applying or receiving free or reduced lunches.

He qualified for free and reduced lunch his first year of teaching, Clark said.

These days there is no stigma involved because schools have implemented a system that doesn’t show who is getting free, reduced-price or a full-paid lunch, he said.

In his district, students have a card they swipe through a machine, then the computer credits the cost, if there is one, to the student’s account.

The applications are available at each school from the school secretary.

Having students taking part in the program actually helps school systems qualify for more federal funding for other programs, Clark said.

Other school systems in the state also have the free and reduced lunch applications available. Some, such as Jay School Department, have applications on district Web sites.

The National School Lunch Act was created in 1946, though the USDA had provided funds and food to schools for many years prior to that.

About 7.1 million children were participating in the National School Lunch Program by the end of its first year, 1946-47, and the cost was $70 million. By fiscal year 2003, more than 28.4 million children participated and the cost was $7.1 billion, according to the state Web site.