More than one-quarter of Minnesota school children and more than one-third of those in Wisconsin are eligible for free or reduced priced lunches at their schools because of their families’ low income levels.
Substantially lower proportions of students in Chisago, Washington, Pierce and St. Croix Counties are eligible for free or reduced price lunches than their respective states.
Compared to the Wisconsin average, a slightly lower proportion of Polk County students and a similar proportion of Burnett County students are eligible for free or reduced school lunches.
Although the national economy was slowly improving over the 2010-2019 period, the proportion of Wisconsin students eligible for free or reduced price lunches remained steady.
The percentage of Pierce and St. Croix Counties eligible for free or reduced school lunches has consistently been about one-third lower than the state average, Polk’s percentage has been slightly lower and Burnett’s consistently higher than the Wisconsin average.
About 30% of Minnesota students have been eligible for free or reduced priced school lunches over the 2010 – 2019 time period.
In both Chisago and Washington Counties the proportions of students qualifying for free or reduced price lunches have been about one-third lower than the state average.
Though similar, the proportion of students qualifying for free or reduced price lunches has been slightly lower in all years in Washington County than in Chisago County.