USDA doubles down against allowing schools to serve free lunch to all children this fall

Before the pandemic, students had to meet specific criteria in order to qualify for USDA’s free and reduced price lunch program. Households whose annual income fell within 130 percent of the federal poverty threshold were eligible for free meals, while those that made between 130 and 185 percent of the federal poverty threshold received discounted ones. In areas where at least half of a school’s student body qualified for free lunch, officials could offer lunch at no cost to all kids. In all these cases, USDA would reimburse schools for the bulk of the costs of providing free meals.

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Then in March, as the economy contracted and unemployment soared, USDA issued regulatory waivers permitting all schools to serve free breakfast and lunch to all children, including those not of school-age or enrolled in private institutions. School nutrition officials welcomed the move, which allowed many districts to serve as de facto hunger relief organizations within their communities. USDA said that initial waivers were possible thanks to a boost in funding from the Families First coronavirus relief bill, but that it needed another infusion of cash to extend them.

This means that schools will soon have to begin charging for meals again and tracking meal debt among kids who can’t pay.

“This is a basic need for all people,” says Michelle Hammond, food services director of the Roaring Forks School District in Colorado, which will no longer be able to provide free meals to all kids under the age of 18 in the coming school year. “[Money] should not be a hindrance for our kids.”

In his letter defending the choice to not extend waivers, Perdue appeared to suggest that families would be able to continue meeting their nutritional needs elsewhere.

“Americans are a generous people, and there are already opportunities for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, and weekend meals for children in need,” he wrote. But many fear that that won’t be enough.

“I think that is just atrocious and horrifying,” Shelly said in a previous interview about the lack of waivers. “It just blows my mind that we can’t take care of our community.”

Unless USDA reverses its decision, families will have to wait until next month before Congress even considers legislation to authorize funding for free school meals.

That’s because Republican and Democratic lawmakers failed to come to an agreement about future coronavirus relief last week, leaving additional school lunch funding—as well as unemployment benefits, eviction moratoriums, and emergency funding for numerous other programs—in limbo. Then they went on recess.

Correction: A previous version of this story suggested that Sonny Perdue was referring to nonprofit food distribution efforts is his letter noting that “there are already opportunities for…meals for children in need.” A USDA representative clarified that Perdue was referring to other federal programs.