Hard Times in Troy Township

Poverty among Troy students is growing, if you believe the National School Lunch Program statistics.

Approximately one-third, or 33.69 percent of the district's children qualify for free or reduced lunch, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. In Illinois, more than a half of all students qualify at 51.67 percent.

In 2006, the number of eligible students who qualified for the benefit was 11.7 percent. That number tripled in five years.

In order to receive free lunch at school, a family must be at or below 130 percent of the poverty level, whereas the reduced lunch requirement is at or below 185 percent of the poverty level, according to the USDA.

These statistics were presented at Wednesday's Troy 30-C District Board meeting. Ken Surma, the district's assistant principal for transportation services, prepared a 45-minute, 19-slide presentation titled "Understanding the National School Lunch Program, Free and Reduced Lunches." This was in response to the heated discussion at January's meeting concerning the program's application and verification process.

The end of Surma's presentation highlighted Troy's comparison to Will County and the State of Illinois. The proportion of free lunches provided are 26 percent at Troy, 28 percent in Will County, and 46 percent in Illinois. The statistics for reduced lunches are 8 percent at Troy, 5 percent in Will County and 6 percent in the state.

Looking at 10 years of data, Troy has caught up to Will County's percentage of students eligible for benefits, Surma said. According to his charts, Troy had 8.01 percent in 2001, while the state was 42.67 percent. Over the decade, Will County maintained approximately 10 percentage points greater than Troy. But in the last three years, Troy has surpassed Will County.

In 2011, Troy students elligible for benefits are 33.69 percent, Will County has 32.99 percent and the state remains much higher at 51.67 percent.

Surma cited the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Illinois State Board of Education for his statistics.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 2009, Will County had a 9.8 percent child poverty rate. The poverty level for two adults with two children is $21,027. Whereas two adults each working a full-time minimum wage job makes $32,240 combined.

Over 12 percent of Illinoisans are living below the poverty level. In Illinois, families of four under the age of 60 who are not disabled have a maximum monthly income limit of $2,389, $28,668 annually, in order to receive the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.