End of free meals in Lincoln schools could add to ‘boiling pot’ of food insecurity | Education

The quality of school meals has increased significantly since federal lawmakers passed the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010, and a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that schools often offer the healthiest meals a student has access to. That, in turn, allows students to succeed in the classroom, Ashelford said.

LPS’ food service workers played a key role in ensuring students didn’t go hungry when the pandemic first shuttered schools two years ago, providing curbside meal pick-ups across the city. LPS also provided meals during the summer, and when schools closed for three Fridays this past January and February, kitchen staff continued to serve meals to students who needed them.

The Food Bank also stepped up during the first year of the pandemic, setting up drive-thru distribution sites across the city, including at schools. The nonprofit, which served about 10 million meals a year before the pandemic, has doled out 14 million meals annually during COVID-19. 

Sampson said demand for the Food Bank’s services could increase if the meal waivers indeed expire. The organization runs the weekly Backpack Program for elementary students and holds monthly food markets at middle and high schools where families can pick up food supplies. The Food Bank also provides free meals for students during the summer.

Demand for those in-school programs has actually declined during the pandemic, Sampson said. The programs were halted when visitors were barred from LPS during the 2020-21 school year, which meant families had to rely on the nonprofit’s distribution sites, and numbers haven’t recovered.

The free-meal waivers were key to tackling food insecurity during the pandemic, Sampson said, and helped all families, regardless of income level.

“Even if you’re in the middle class, you’ve seen the benefits of this,” she said.

There are just over 18,000 students enrolled in the federal free- and reduced-lunch program this year, which is down about 1,200 students from last year, according to LPS’ official enrollment figures from October.

That dip is likely attributable to the waivers for meals, but Ashelford said the district has emphasized to families the importance of still enrolling in the program if eligible because it offers other benefits, like scholarships. 

Jill Podraza, who has two grandchildren at Park Middle School, would like to see the free meals continue.

Her daughter can’t work because she has to stay at home to look after another one of Podraza’s grandchildren. Not having to worry about paying for meals at school has helped her daughter weather the pandemic financially.

“To take this away, these children are our future,” Podraza said. “This is the only place they’re going to get a decent meal.”

Sampson’s hope is that the waivers are renewed, but she’s not confident that will happen. If the government doesn’t step in, the Food Bank will be ready, she said. That will include making sure things like the emergency pantries at schools, where families can pick up food, are stocked and ready to go next year.

“We hope for the best, but we’re going to plan for the worst,” she said. “We’ll find a way to continue to support these families.”