The federally subsidized school lunch program for all students ended in August. School cafeterias saw a large reduction in students opting to get breakfast and lunch.
“Public school is the great equalizer, so let’s equalize it,” said Watauga High School Administrator Dr. Rachel Shepherd. She described the difficulty many families will face due to the cut off of funding that allowed all Watauga County Schools students to eat free school meals for the past two years. The funding won’t be provided during the 2022-23 school year, meaning that many Watauga families are picking up the cost of school meals once again.
Beginning in March 2020 and continuing through the end of the 2021-22 school year, North Carolina school districts offered free school meals for all students regardless of income. Compared to the same time period during the 2019-2020 school year, the number of lunches provided to students in the county increased by 74%.
Traditionally, a federal program offsets school meal costs for exclusively low-income students that apply for assistance through their school system. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused many families to experience loss of income and raised expenses for healthcare, childcare, gasoline, food, and other basic necessities. Seeing the need for assistance, the federal government provided flexibility to the North Carolina guidelines that dictate which students qualify for free or reduced lunch, expanding the program to provide free lunch and breakfast for all students regardless of family income.
“The federal government also made this possible by providing schools with a financial reimbursement for all those meals,” explained Superintendent Dr. Scott Elliott.
School administrators, Dr. Elliott, and Watauga County School Nutrition Director Monica Bolick all encouraged families to apply for free or reduced-price meals using forms that can be found online.
“We strongly encourage families to complete the online free/reduced meal applications,” said Bolick.
However, they recognize that last year’s system was uniquely successful in its mission to keep students fed.
“We have some families that may need [free or reduced meals] but that don’t want to feel like they’re taking a handout,” explained Dr. Shepherd. “If everybody is participating in it, it’s not that ‘my kid is getting free or reduced lunch.’ It’s just that everybody gets lunch.”
Unfortunately, struggling to provide for one’s family can be a source of shame for some people, and providing free meals for all allowed everyone to eat, removing the sense of stratification between students with different financial needs.
The standard cost for school lunch is now set at $3.25, but the North Carolina governor and legislature agreed to provide free meals to those who previously qualified for only reduced-cost meals.
Although many people were grateful for the switch to free lunch last year, many students didn’t know who made the decision. Now that more begin to understand that federal funding is what supplied these meals, they also wonder what we can do to put those policies back in place.
“Reach out to state and national representatives,” Shepherd recommended. “State representatives can in turn reach out to national representatives, but that funding comes from the federal government.”
Contacting government officials can be intimidating, especially for students, but Dr. Shepherd advised how students and families can best influence those in positions of power.
“If there is a story or a piece of information that you can give that is a personal anecdote, that indicates how the lack of that funding or availability of that funding impacted you or somebody that you know personally,” Shepherd said. “That always goes a long way with lawmakers.”
One can find contact information for most representatives through a simple internet search.
Although younger students may not understand the importance or implications of the absence of affordable meals, students at Watauga High School are prepared to share their testimonies and advocate for their peers.
“A lack of affordable food in schools impacts more than just the kids who have no food at home,” said junior AJ Pinnix. “Just because I have food at home doesn’t mean it’s the best affordable option for me to buy groceries every week when I could just be eating for free [at school] and spending that money on other things, like my education.”
Despite changes in the federal budget, districtwide leaders are determined to keep students fed. Watauga High School’s “Pioneer Pantry” is a resource that Rachel Shepard encourages high school families to utilize.
“It’s like a grocery store,” Shepherd said. “Families come in, and they can shop, and they can get the things they need. This community, probably more than most places, has resources, and people who know what to do, and know who to talk to.”
Especially in a period of such unmatched financial instability, however, “That doesn’t mean we’re not still going to have kids who come to school hungry,” Shepherd said. “And if you’re hungry, you can’t learn.”
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