"Among the first to call attention to the increases were Department of Education officials who use..."

“Among the first to call attention to the increases were Department of Education officials who use subsidized lunch rates as a poverty indicator in federal testing. This month, in releasing results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, they noted that the proportion of the nation’s fourth graders enrolled in the lunch program had climbed to 52 percent from 49 percent in 2009, crossing a symbolic watershed.”

- Surge in Free School Lunches Reflects Economic Crisis - NYTimes.com