THERE’S no food on display at the school cafeteria and there are no students queuing for free meals.
Students enrolled in various summer programs in the CNMI have to bring their own lunch because free meals are optional at this time of the year.
This fiscal year 2002, the CNMI will get $4.616 million for food and nutrition assistance, government records showed.
The Public School System’s federal programs officer, Bill Matson, said unlike Guam, the CNMI’s grant for food and nutrition from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is limited to regular classes.
The only exception to the rule are students in the special education program who have to spend lunch time in their classrooms, Matson said. They are also provided with school buses unlike other regular students attending summer programs.
“Guam and the CNMI have two different types of grants from the USDA. Guam has a grant like Hawaii and California. We were able to get a grant that gives us flexibility. That’s why you might detect some differences between Guam and Saipan,” he added.
