As some families struggle to put food on their tables, tens of thousands of additional students in Missouri and Illinois are taking part in a federal program that pays for some or all of their meals eaten at school.

And school districts are leading the push to sign up even more students, sending home notices and offering incentives such as iPod raffles to increase participation in the National School Lunch Program.

Schools know that brains work harder on full stomachs. But they also know that millions of dollars in federal funding for a host of programs is tied to the number of students who receive subsidized meals. The more students who enroll, the more money a school district can get.

Missouri has seen an increase of about 25,000 students getting the meals, with at least 43 percent on the program last school year compared to about 40 percent in recent years. In Illinois, about 26,000 more students have enrolled, with 49 percent participating in February, the last available monthly count. Previously, that figure had hovered around 47 percent.

But some say the numbers haven't gone up as much as they should have.

The Center for Budget Policy Priorities says districts need to do more to sign up the rising numbers of kids who qualify. One of the group's analysts, Zoe Neuberger, says she hasn't seen lunch program numbers rise as drastically as unemployment rates and food stamp enrollment.

Meanwhile, a study released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave low marks to Missouri and Illinois for signing up eligible students. Both states ranked among the bottom 10 nationwide.

"We hope schools will take steps to reach out to struggling families and make it as easy as possible to enroll children for free or reduced-price school meals throughout the school year," Neuberger said.

Many families now hit by the recession haven't had incomes low enough in the past to qualify for the program, which is why it's so important to get the word out about it, said Crystal Fitzsimons with the Food Resource and Action Center, a national group that works for hunger-reducing policies. For the first time, the group published a guide this fall that directs districts on how to recruit more students for the program.

Francis Howell schools in St. Charles County have more than doubled their participation rates by sending more e-mails and newsletters about the program. As of September, more than 27 percent of the students were enrolled, compared to about 13 percent last September.

The federal lunch program reimburses districts for the cost of meals and food service needs. Beyond that, the free and reduced lunch rate serves as a common measure of school poverty, used to determine grants, federal Title I funds and federal discounts on Internet and phone services.

St. Louis Public Schools, in an effort to get more students to apply for the program, will hold raffles in the next couple of weeks for four iPods and two $50 grocery store gift certificates. Schools that get applications for a certain percentage of students will be put in a drawing for a nacho or pizza party.

The district receives $123,000 in meal funding for each percent increase of eligible students.

Last school year, about 75 percent of the district's students were eligible for the meals. So far this year, that figure has climbed to about 84 percent.

Lindbergh school district has also stepped up recruitment — in addition to sending out a letter at the beginning of the year, district officials passed out brochures at meet-the-teacher nights and will publish reminders in the district newsletter.

So far, an additional 100 of the district's 5,700 students have been enrolled in the program. But Pat Lanane, the district's chief financial officer, said that increase is significant, given the fact that the district has been losing transfer students from the city, most of whom qualify for free and reduced-price lunches.

"You'd think that no way you could see that kind of poverty slip into South County," he said. "Well, it has happened now, and obviously it's an impact of the recession."

Rockwood schools have also seen an uptick in participation after publicizing the program. But the district doesn't think incentives like raffles are the best idea. "It may encourage dishonest answers on the forms," said Carmen Fisher, the district's director of child nutrition services.

Some districts, such as Parkway, haven't made any extra recruiting efforts this year but have still seen numbers rise. About 19 percent of Parkway students qualify for the meals, an unusual jump, since the enrollment has stayed at around 15 percent for the last several years, said Mike Kanak, director of food services.

Parkway has already had an aggressive plan to identify students, sending several letters and checking databases of food stamp participants and city transfer students. Why all the effort?

"For one thing, it's the right thing to do," said Kanak. "The other reason, it's so we're sure of what our funding possibilities are. You need to maximize your revenue flow as much as you can."



Jessica Bock of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.