By Elizabeth Chuck
A federal waiver that made school breakfasts and lunches free to students regardless of their families' income is set to expire June 30, removing a benefit that has helped millions of schoolchildren at a time when they need it more than never, according to anti-hunger activists.
The free school meals program began in March 2020, when Congress authorized the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue dozens of child nutrition waivers, including those that expanded summer feeding programs, to provide a lifeline during the pandemic.
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If the waivers end this month, as planned, experts foresee a crisis as families, already facing rising prices at supermarkets, gas stations and elsewhere, lose access to the meals they used to eat. their children have counted for the past two years.
Cafeterias that serve students, meanwhile, are already running into hurdles: Supply chain disruptions have dramatically increased the cost of their food and made it harder for them to meet strict USDA meal requirements. .
The waivers give them the flexibility to offer nutritious meals using substitutions without penalty.
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“School meal programs are facing a perfect storm,” said Diane Pratt-Heavner, a spokeswoman for the School Nutrition Association, a trade organization representing more than 50,000 school nutrition employees.
“They are very concerned about financial sustainability,” he noted, and with universal free meals gone, “they are very concerned that children will go hungry next year.”
Before the child nutrition waivers, children from families with incomes at or below 130% of the federal poverty level were eligible for free school meals, while those from families with incomes between 130% and 185% of the poverty level were eligible for reduced-price meals through the USDA National School Lunch Program.
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About 21 million students accessed free or reduced-price meals each school day before the pandemic, according to Jillien Meier, director of partnerships and campaign strategy for No Kid Hungry.
Valerie Yanez, 4, during lunch in the cafeteria at Doby Elementary School in Apollo Beach, Fla., on October 4, 2019.Eve Edelheit/The Washington Post via Getty Images
But until 2020, enrolling students could be a burden, both for parents who had to prove eligibility and for schools collecting the information, something that would be even more difficult now amid staffing shortages.
For the past two years, parents have not had to fill out applications.
And since all students at her school were offered free breakfast and lunch, it reduced the stigma some students previously associated with receiving meals-
The waivers allowed schools to distribute grab-and-go meals as they walked away.
They are credited with helping to avert what many feared would be a catastrophic rise in childhood hunger when the pandemic hit.
"We think that's directly attributable to the flexibilities that Congress gave us," Meier said.
“And now they are refusing to extend those exemptions,” she added.
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President Joe Biden was expected to extend the USDA's authority to issue exemptions for another year.
But the extension was not included in the general spending bill approved by Congress.
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POLITICO reported that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans opposed expanding funding for school meals because of its roughly $11 billion cost.
A McConnell aide denied it to our sister network NBC News, saying there was never a proposal for him to turn down.
The USDA urged Congress for an extension.
“Without congressional action, our tools to help program operators are much more limited.
USDA is seeking every tool at its disposal to ease the burden the pandemic has placed on school districts, but the magnitude of this problem requires action by Congress," the USDA said in a statement, adding that the department has been able to offer “some narrow program flexibilities” like transitioning schools back to normal operations, but is evaluating more ways to help.
How much money have families saved with free meals?
Human rights activists have long argued that the band that qualifies a family for free or reduced school breakfasts and lunches is too narrow and already excludes many families struggling to make ends meet.
A family of four would have to have earned $34,450 or less in the 2021-2022 school year to be eligible for free meals, or $49,025 or less to be eligible for reduced-price meals, according to the School Nutrition Association.
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The price of school meals varies across the country, and the most recent data available from the USDA is from the 2016 to 2017 school year, when school breakfast cost an average of $1.48 and school lunch an average of $2.57.
That would mean that for a family with two children, the cost of breakfast and lunch would be $8.10 a day, or $1,458 for a 180-day school year - though school meal prices have risen since then, so the figure would be higher today.
Kellie Crawford. Courtesy of Kellie Crawford
The benefits of a universal school meal program go beyond its financial aspects, according to Kellie Crawford, who teaches science and library to preschool through third grade students in Spokane, Washington.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, about 35% of his elementary school students were eligible for free or reduced-price meals, according to Crawford.
Once the free meals were made available to all students, there was a noticeable increase in the overall concentration and energy level of their classes.
"We saw how incredible it was," he said.
“It's easier for our school staff to do their jobs.
Our students are happier and healthier,” he stated.
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She also said it was a relief to no longer see students stressed about their lunch account balance being low or empty.
Although some states, like California, have passed universal free school meal programs and others have introduced laws proposing them, advocates hope Congress will take action.
"Just like kids have a free bus ride to school and textbooks to learn, they need a meal in the middle of the day so they can focus on their studies," Pratt-Heavner recalled.