Are we done with those lunch give-outs from schools

amother

Olive

Tue, Sep 01 2020, 8:23 am

FRom hefkervelt
USDA Extends Free Meals for Kids Through December 31, 2020 (this is not the regular school lunch but the summer program.)
Summer meal programs can continue operating as funding allows

(Washington, DC, August 31, 2020) – Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will extend several flexibilities through as late as December 31, 2020. The flexibilities allow summer meal program operators to continue serving free meals to all children into the fall months. This unprecedented move will help ensure – no matter what the situation is on-the-ground – children have access to nutritious food as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. USDA has been and continues to be committed to using the Congressionally appropriated funding that has been made available.

“As our nation reopens and people return to work, it remains critical our children continue to receive safe, healthy, and nutritious food. During the COVID-19 pandemic, USDA has provided an unprecedented amount of flexibilities to help schools feed kids through the school meal programs, and today, we are also extending summer meal program flexibilities for as long as we can, legally and financially,” said Secretary Perdue. “We appreciate the incredible efforts by our school foodservice professionals year in and year out, but this year we have an unprecedented situation. This extension of summer program authority will employ summer program sponsors to ensure meals are reaching all children – whether they are learning in the classroom or virtually – so they are fed and ready to learn, even in new and ever-changing learning environments.”

“School Nutrition Association greatly appreciates USDA addressing the critical challenges shared by our members serving students on the frontlines these first weeks of school. These waivers will allow school nutrition professionals to focus on nourishing hungry children for success, rather than scrambling to process paperwork and verify eligibility in the midst of a pandemic." said School Nutrition Association (SNA) President Reggie Ross, SNS. "We look forward to continuing our dialogue with USDA to ensure school meal programs are equipped to meet the future needs of America’s students.”

“Today’s announcement brings a huge relief to our school meal program and the community we serve,” said Lindsay Aguilar, RD, SNS, Director of Food Services for Tucson Unified School District, AZ. “Many of our families who might not qualify for free meals are still going through a tough time and are worried about how to keep food on the table. Now their children will have one less thing to worry about as they adjust to evolving in-school and remote learning scenarios. These waivers also eliminate a massive administrative burden for our school nutrition staff, allowing them to focus on feeding children.”

“These waivers will ensure every hungry child in the city of Cleveland has access to healthy school meals, while eliminating the burdensome, time consuming process of verifying and documenting enrollment,” said Chris Burkhardt, SNS, Executive Director of School Nutrition for Cleveland Metropolitan School District, OH. “Our school nutrition team had to develop and implement a bar code verification system this fall that has greatly complicated and slowed service. With these waivers, we’ll be able to speed up meal distribution for the safety of staff and families and ensure no student is denied access to healthy meals.”

amother

Aubergine

Tue, Sep 01 2020, 8:36 am

amother [ Olive ] wrote:

so im wondering if this means all frum schools will give lunch for free or do they need to apply? will this "trickle down" to those not eligible for free lunch?

anyway, im definitely feeling the pinch...we earn just over 100k and are therefore charged almost full tuition but after paying tuition/rent, theres not much left for food...the public school food really helped us financially .....

im glad im not eligible for food stamps/free lunch but they are getting $420 per child per month per food in addition to this food program,but for those who dont qualify and are paying exorbitant tuitions, its very difficult....the schools are really being unfair because I think they are only looking at salaries but if we dont get food or rent paid for and dont get big tuition scholarships...etc..then we have more expenses...

amother

Olive

Tue, Sep 01 2020, 8:41 am

amother [ Aubergine ] wrote:

I understand you
I pay $200/month for lunches. It would be a huge help to save that

I think it was the middle class that appreciated the boxes the most.
Below that ppl have wic and food stamps so this was extra on top of that.
When things are tight the extra food was a huge help. We threw almost nothing out. We turned it into at least 2 meals a day when possible.

amother

Aubergine

Tue, Sep 01 2020, 8:47 am

amother [ Wheat ] wrote:

I did not receive any lunches in KJ and neither did other ppl I know - those who do not qualify for the lunch program should not be getting free lunch.

What do you mean by "those who dont qualify for the lunch program should not be getting free lunch?"

The food program was for everyone....if I wasnt struggling financially, I wouldnt take it....so maybe you aren't struggling and dont understand....

But, if you look at the income eligibility list for free lunches, it assumes ppl aren't paying tuition for private school because if I wasn't paying tuition, I would have money for food...but since as a yehudi, I must send to yeshiva, I have no choice...

If you are talking about the extended food program that the poster quoted, well, the government will decide if there will be income eligibility, not you...and if there is income eligibility like the free lunch program, then nothing changed.