Free school lunches at risk for some Nashville students

Meghan Mangrum, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

Some Metro Nashville Public Schools students will no longer receive free school lunches if Congress fails to extend pandemic-era waivers at the end of the month.

Originally passed in March 2020, the waivers gave schools more flexibility when serving meals to students in light of school closures and social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic. The waivers, which expire June 30, also expanded eligibility for free school lunches by not requiring school districts to verify family incomes before distributing free breakfast and lunch to students.

If the federal waiver isn't renewed like it was last summer, Metro Schools would revert to the system Tennessee had in place prior to the pandemic, district spokesperson Sean Braisted said.

Under the Community Eligibility Provision, if enough families qualify for state or federal assistance at a school, then the entire school qualifies for free lunch. Most Metro Schools qualify under this provision, but 31 do not.

Families at those 31 schools would have to apply and qualify for free or reduced-price lunch or pay full price this fall if the federal waiver is not renewed. The district will continue offering free breakfast at all schools, but continuing the free lunch program at those 31 schools would cost an additional $7.5 million, Braisted said.

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The Metro Council, which is in the process of reviewing and approving the district's fiscal year 2023 budget request, is aware of the cost but the district is also requesting another $22.6 million to make up for a shortfall in state funding.

If the city doesn't provide the $7.5 million needed to continue the program, the district is "exploring the possibility of using federal ESSER funds to cover that cost, but that requires state approval," Braisted said.

Students who don't qualify for assistance or have an outstanding balance are not turned away from receiving lunch, Braisted added.

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Individual schools are responsible for collecting outstanding school lunch debts or paying for the meals out of their own budget.

In 2020, then school board chair Anna Shepherd urged the community "to help retire uncollected debts at Metro Schools." Find more information here.

Find out which 31 schools would be affected by visiting: www.mnps.org/students-families/services/nutrition/cep.

Metro Nashville Public Schools meal prices

  • Breakfast for all students: Free

  • Lunch for students in grades pre-K to 8: $2.75

  • Lunch for students in grades 9-12: $3

  • Reduced price lunch for students: $0.40

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Meghan Mangrum covers education for the USA TODAY Network — Tennessee. Contact her at mmangrum@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Free school lunches could end for some Nashville students