Universal school meals not returning in the fall

Jul. 2—For the past two years, families haven't had to worry about their child going through the school day hungry.

No worries about lunch money, filling out paperwork for free or reduced meals, no self-consciousness about reporting one's income.

This is due to federal waivers that were passed at the height of the pandemic in 2020. These waivers relaxed strict nutritional guidelines, reimbursed schools at a higher rate for the meals it served, made it easier to navigate supply chain and inflation challenges, and provided free breakfast and lunch to every child at school.

Students might have still spent money on additional food items in their cafeteria, but the traditional breakfast and lunch was free.

Universal free school meals have been a lifeline for millions of kids across the country.

The wildly popular policy choice resulted in an additional 10 million students receiving school breakfast and lunch, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Ninety percent of schools took advantage of the federal waivers.

But free school meals won't return when schools open again this fall.

The universal-meal provision wasn't included in a last-minute Congressional bill that extends certain aspects of the waivers.

Advocates say the Keep Kids Fed Act, signed June 25 by President Joe Biden, will help schools navigate an increasingly challenging food-sourcing landscape, but more should have been — and needs to be done — for needy families.

"It doesn't do anything to elevate the access or structure for school meals," said Crystal FitzSimons, director of school and out-of-school time programs at the Food Research and Action Center, a national anti-hunger organization.

The return of an obstacle

Only kids with a family income at or below 130% of the poverty level will qualify for free school meals. This is a fixed threshold. It is not adjusted for where one resides.

Some children are automatically enrolled if their family participates in other social services, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly referred to as food stamps.

Plenty of other families will have to apply. Although the process is confidential, FitzSimons said there will be people who avoid applying for one reason or another.

It could be a resistance to disclose personal information and financials. There's also the fear immigrant families have in filling out paperwork.

Some parents have never had to fill out free-school-meal paperwork. Universal free meals are the only thing they've ever known.

"I think people ... when they have to apply ... they're going to be upset," FitzSimons said.

Challenges aren't reserved for those who might qualify.

Families that do not could find themselves paying more this year than before the pandemic.

It's one more squeeze in a time where nearly everything — food, rent, utilities, gas — costs more.

FitzSimons and the folks at the Food Research and Action Center see an easy permanent solution — free school meals for every child.

"Free school meals for all is a great way to overcome the food barriers families face," she said.

The benefits of universal school meals extend past food security.

There is significant evidence that child nutrition programs help academic performance, boost school attendance and student health.

Cost, supply chain woes expected to stick around

The Keep Kids Fed Act extends supply chain flexibilities and reimburses schools at a higher rate for meals served — compared to before the pandemic — for the coming school year. However, those reimbursements are still less than the original waivers.

The $3 billion plan also allows for grab-and-go options and meal deliveries this summer.

Like the average consumer, schools are feeling the squeeze of increased costs. Grocery store prices are up 11.9% from May 2021, according to the Consumer Price Index.

Christine Clarahan, food service director at School City of Hammond, said there has been a 12% increase in packaging costs. A school might also have to pay more if it doesn't order a certain amount of product.

"There's nothing but increased costs," Clarahan said.

It's why there's concern, even with the passing of the Keep Kids Fed Act, because the reimbursements are not as high as they once were.

Most schools participate in the USDA's meal reimbursement program. Schools receive funding for each meal served throughout the year. Reimbursement covers a school's food service operations — everything from food to staffing.

Prior to the pandemic, schools could only be fully reimbursed if they met strict federal nutritional standards. Those standards were relaxed during the pandemic, which gave schools more options if they had to substitute foods they could not obtain.

Clarahan said Hammond schools avoided a lot of supply chain issues, thanks to good relations with its food vendor, but that's not the case everywhere.

A USDA survey from March found that 92% of schools experienced supply chain disruptions, mostly product availability, orders arriving with missing or substituted items and labor shortages. Responding schools expected the issues to worsen next school year.

"It's gotten worse monthly for us," Clarahan said. "It becomes really challenging when you have to meet very, very strict requirements and the supply isn't there. It seems like being set up to fail in the worst way."

It's prompted some school districts to outsource its food services.

Kokomo School Corporation entered into a multi-year contract with Chartwells, a third-party food service provider, due to struggles its in-house team faced during the pandemic.

"Our people, they're killing themselves getting things done," Michelle Cronk, business director for Kokomo schools, said last month. "We can't get anything. We don't have food to make things work. We have people covering multiple buildings."

Chartwells will manage day-to-day operations and food and supply purchasing. The partnership should increase buying power and access to food.

Clarahan, who is also president-elect of the Indiana School Nutrition Association (ISNA), said she's heard of school districts going months without chicken products.

ISNA is a state chapter of the School Nutrition Association and works with the Indiana Department of Education to implement school nutrition policies.

Students with special dietary needs face their own challenges. Hammond schools has nearly 600 kids who need alternative food options.

Clarahan said soy and lactose-free items are tough to find, raising concerns about allergens when substituting foods.

"There's so many levels to all the stress," she said.

An under-used option

Any push for universal school meals will face an uphill battle.

A one-year extension of free school meals was met with resistance from Republicans in Congress. It was assumed the waivers would be extended when Congress passed its spending bill in March, however they were omitted, despite past bipartisan support.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, told Politico it was Senate Minority Leader and Republican Mitch McConnell who held up the extension.

That's what prompted the Keep Kids Fed Act. Stabenow, who sponsored the bill, said there wasn't enough Republican support to include one more year of free meals. Not including free meals was a compromise and led the bill to pass both houses and ensure other supports for schools.

However, there is one option hundreds of schools aren't taking advantage of.

Schools with a high rate of poverty are eligible for a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).

Any school building or district that has 40% of students who are eligible for free meals through SNAP, other similar benefits, or who are homeless, in foster care, migrant or enrolled in Head Start, can apply for the designation.

With a CEP, schools can serve breakfast and lunch to all students without having families fill out paperwork. Schools are reimbursed for meals served. The more low-income students, the higher the reimbursement rate.

A CEP designation lasts multiple years.

There are hundreds of school districts eligible or near-eligible (above 30% but below 40%) that do not participate.

Indiana is near the bottom when it comes to eligible school districts participating. Only 41% of Indiana schools eligible for a CEP have opted in. FitzSimons said there are 80 schools that could get reimbursed at the highest rate.

Many schools within Kokomo School Corporation participate with the exception of Kokomo High School, which is eligible for a CEP but does not, according to FRAC's database. All Peru Community Schools participate.

Taylor Community Schools is eligible but does not participate. Same for Maconaquah, except the high school which is not eligible.

While FRAC will continue to lobby Congress on a permanent solution, FitzSimons said they will work to leverage CEPs.

"That's one strategy we are trying to lift up," she said.

Spencer Durham can be reached at 765-454-8598, by email at spencer.durham@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @Durham_KT.