The pandemic-era federal aid that made school meals available for free to all public school students — regardless of family income levels — is ending, raising fears about the effects in the upcoming school year for families already struggling with rising food and fuel costs
Since waiving the eligibility requirement during the pandemic, the U.S. Agriculture Department, which oversees school meal programs, has seen the number of participating students soar.
A bill passed in Congress last week and signed by President Joe Biden on Saturday aims to keep the rules around summer meals programs as they have been during the pandemic so that sites can operate in any community with need, rather than just where there’s a high concentration of low-income children, and offer to-go meals. It also provides flexibility for schools to make substitutions for certain types of food without being fined if they run into supply chain problems.
For the next school year, some states have taken it upon themselves to keep school meals free for all students. “Not everybody has the same situation at home and it’s hard to learn at school when you’re super hungry so I think free lunch, it makes it easier for everybody,” student Ethan Pringle said.
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