A range of financial, logistical and regulatory challenges have the potential to disrupt school meal service as pandemic relief funding expires and stricter standards arrive, advocates say.
Staff shortages, rising costs and family meal debt are the biggest challenges that school food service face, according to a survey that also finds the staff have confidence that healthy ingredients are being served.
Nearly 30 million students per day received lunch at school and more than 15.5 million had breakfast in the 2021–2022 academic year as more children returned for in-person instruction.
Paying less than 50 cents per meal might seem trivial to the 90% of Americans who are food secure, but it creates a substantial financial barrier for others.
Interacting with friends and affordability are key reasons that high school lunch service is soaring in popularity with students, according to No Kid Hungry's latest report.
Creating a positive culture where school nutrition employees enjoy coming to work has always been a priority. In the current labor market, it’s more critical than ever.
Students will continue to eat free lunch this summer but, unless there is further Congressional action, districts will soon face the heavy administrative lift of K-12 food service.
Pandemic-era flexibilities will change during the new school year even as eligibility for free- and reduced lunch is expanded and reimbursements increase.
Loss of free universal meal waivers will "devastate school meal programs" and is a "worst-case scenario" for children nationwide, anti-hunger advocates and education leaders say.
In a statement released Dec. 16, President Biden said negotiations will "continue next week," adding that "it takes time to finalize these agreements, prepare the legislative changes, and finish all the parliamentary and procedural steps needed to enable a Senate vote."
District leaders are having to change menus daily as food suppliers are forced to substitute products, putting pressure on students with allergies to check ingredients.
Compared to this time last year, when administrators scrambled to feed students amid the new COVID calamity, the road ahead seems less threatening despite the persistent challenges.
School districts will be able to provide free meals for students through the end of the 2021-22 school year due to extension nutrition waivers by Biden's USDA.
Participation in Connecticut school meal service dropped 32% in March 2020 but the free- and reduced-lunch numbers returned to typical levels in April and May.
Early this school year, Superintendent Brian Kuhn doubted that Clark-Shawnee Local School District could stick with hybrid learning through Thanksgiving.
Meriden Public Schools in Connecticut has adapted in creative ways, from using tents, classroom and bus seating charts, student cohorts, and more to make in-person learning possible.
This Alabama school district has leveraged technology to dramatically improve student outcomes and overcome challenges, including a successful pivot to hybrid learning during the pandemic
Extension of USDA free meals program through the end of 2020-21 was met with overall relief by educators. However, some are concerned applications will drop.
The free meal programs operated by the New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston school districts increased access to healthy food for children and adults during COVID closures.
An extension of nationwide summer food service programs will allow school districts to provide free school meals to families through the end of the year, but services may be paused during extended school breaks.
The waivers permit food service providers to offer free meals to families of school-age children to last them through the week without restricting them to specific distribution centers.
Many schools opening for in-person instruction this fall will require students to eat meals in the classroom. How can educators avoid putting students with food allergies at risk of having an allergic reaction?
Walking to school, prepackaged meals and non-contact sports outdoors run a lower risk of transmitting coronavirus in schools. Contact sports, choirs and bands, and buses pose the highest risk.
Bringing students and teachers back to classrooms for in-person instruction is the guiding principle in the CDC's revised guidelines for reopening schools during a continued surge in COVID infections.
An unmet need for mental health care motivated Jurupa USD leaders to develop behavioral supports that begin with prenatal care and continue through graduation.
California Department of Education recommends several models of instruction with a focus on equity and extensive health and safety measures when schools reopen.
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