Kurt Marsaler, who oversees school lunch programs in Butte, Montena, faces many challenges related to cafeterias. Children are skipping lunch lines for fear of being judged, parents are furious over shocking bills they can't pay, and the entire school district has $70,000 in unpaid food bills.
But in nearly half of Marthaler's schools, those concerns have disappeared. These schools provide free breakfast and lunch to all students, regardless of family income. At one school, West Elementary School, children grab milk cartons, cereal bars and bananas from folding tables and head to class, where nearly 80 percent of students eat breakfast every day.
“We've done a lot of good things to feed the kids here in Butte,” Marsaler said. But introducing free meals to all citizens was “probably the best thing we've ever done”, he added.
Advocates of free school meals have long called for all students to receive school meals, but significant progress has been made in the past 15 years. Their first big win came quietly in 2010. When Congress passed a low-profile policy called the local eligibility clause, it became easier for schools to provide free meals to everyone. Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government provided free meals to all public school students, rapidly changing the nation's thinking about school meals.
Eight states have passed their own universal free meal bills since the federal policy ended in 2022. Dozens more states have introduced or are preparing similar bills. Another rapidly growing number of his nearly 7,000 schools are enrolled in the regional qualification program in which West Elementary School participates. As of his 2022-2023 school year, approximately 4 out of 10 of his public schools are enrolled.
In total, more than 21 million American children now attend schools that offer free meals for all, a tenfold increase since 2010. “Schools didn't want to go back to a situation where they were charging some kids,” says Crystal Fitzsimmons, director of child nutrition programs and policy at the nonprofit Food Research and Action Center. “They recognized the huge benefits of offering free meals to all students: supporting families, supporting kids, and changing the culture in the cafeteria.”
A tale of two lunches
When viewed from above, the butte looks like a mountain range carved out of an ice cream scoop. Once known as the “richest hill on earth” for its copper mining, Butte was one of the largest cities west of the Mississippi River in its heyday. It currently has around 35,000 residents, many of whom have lived there for generations.
Amber Moore lives on the east side of town in a blue house with a view of Our Lady of the Rockies, a 90-foot statue of the Virgin Mary atop a mountain. A stay-at-home mom, she lives with her husband Jake, a communications engineer, and their five children, four cats, and two dogs.
The Moores' home is zoned for Whittier Elementary School, but unlike West Elementary School, it does not participate in local entitlement and is not eligible for universal free school meals. So five nights a week, Moore cleans her kitchen counter and prepares five lunch boxes. Sunny D, cheese sticks, ham and cheese sandwiches, Lay's, clementines, fruit snacks and more will be available. Moore uses three loaves of bread each week just for lunch. Adding breakfast to this, she spends about $250 a month on two meals.
“It’s like an electric bill,” she said. “It's not a small amount.'' The bill was repealed during the pandemic. During her two years there, Moore's children ate breakfast and lunch at school every day. Whittier, like the majority of schools across the country, then returned to collecting school lunch fees in August 2022, and Ms. Moore returned to making lunch boxes.
The Center for Food Research and Action estimates that while all low-income students in public schools in the United States are technically eligible for free or reduced-price meals, one-third of eligible students do not participate. Not yet. One reason for this is prejudice. Meals provided in schools, often referred to as “hot lunches,” have long been considered a form of welfare, and eating them can be a painful indicator of poverty.
Parents may be unable to complete the necessary paperwork because of unstable incomes, language barriers, or confusion about their financial situation. (In Marthaler's words, “I think it's a matter of pride.”) There may be people who are struggling but are not qualified. To qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a family of four must have an annual income of less than $55,500. Proponents say these obstacles would be eliminated if meals were free for all.
The Moores are not eligible for reduced-price meals, and Moore's income exceeds the limit by $465 a month. “That's one of the frustrating things,” Moore said. “I think a lot of parents are in that middle area of, well, give it a shot.”
“Their brains are activated.”
The push for a national school lunch program began during the Great Depression. At the time, children were starving and farmers were selling their surplus stock. In the 1960s, breakfast was added to school lunches. Since then, school lunches have become the nation's second-largest food security net, after food stamps.
But as childhood obesity rates skyrocket, lunch programs have come under fire as a contributing factor. In 2010, first lady Michelle Obama made childhood obesity a leading issue and pushed for passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which would require more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in school cafeterias. and reduced the amount of salt and sugar used. and unhealthy fats. Policymakers also saw it as an opportunity to feed more hungry children. So they shoved the Community Eligibility Clause (CEP) into the bill without much fanfare.
Under CEP, providing free meals to all citizens has become less onerous. If a school or district has 40 percent of its students who qualify for programs like food stamps or Head Start, or who are homeless, immigrant, or in foster care, they can provide free meals to everyone. There is no need to collect individual applications. Simply apply for the program and you will be eligible for the next four years.
Even CEP's architects are surprised by its influence. “We never expected that a little more than 10 years later, 20 million children would be enrolled in CEP schools,” said the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, which helped develop the 2010 plan. Administrator Cindy Long said. Activities.
Experts say the benefits of free meals for all are myriad. Most importantly, feeding more children will help fight hunger in a country where 17 percent of households with children experience food insecurity. They also eat healthier food. Students learn better when they have enough to eat. Some research suggests that providing free meals school-wide can improve test scores, attendance, and behavior. Such programs assist schools by reducing paperwork and assist parents by reducing food costs.
Like most people, Amanda Denny, a fourth-grade teacher at West Elementary, had never heard of CEP. But she has seen the difference universal school lunches can make. “When kids in my class eat breakfast, they're ready to start their day,” she says. “Their brains are fired up and ready to learn.”
But in one draft federal budget, House Republicans argued that public funds should not be used to pay for wealthy children's lunches and proposed ending CEP altogether. Jonathan Butcher, an education researcher at the Heritage Foundation, believes that school lunch aid has ballooned far beyond its original purpose. He would like to see this clause repealed.
“They're not just saying, 'How can we do a better job of getting food to the kids who need it?' They're not just saying, 'Well, let's not worry about the details.' That's what I'm saying. Let’s give it to everyone,’” Butcher said. “It's not respectful of taxpayers, and it doesn't advance the idea that we should improve our highly wasteful school lunch program.”
Most states that have passed their own free school lunch laws have done so with bipartisan support. To pay for the programs, California, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont, and Michigan tapped general funds or education funds. Massachusetts and Colorado increased taxes on high earners. (Colorado is facing a $56 million funding shortfall this year because the program has been so popular.)
Fitzsimmons, of the Center for Food Research and Action, believes food is as essential to public education as transportation and books, which are usually provided free to students. “We spend billions of dollars on education funding,” she says. “If kids are sitting in a classroom and not learning because they’re hungry or their stomachs are growling, we’re wasting money.”
At West Elementary, a stuffed bison head presides over the cafeteria. There are no cash registers, and at lunchtime, kids push through the line, grabbing trays of “steaks” smothered in applesauce and teriyaki. They lounge next to friends eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from colorful bento boxes.
Ryder is a third-grader who wants to be a YouTuber or a police officer when he grows up (and, he says, “If that doesn't work out, I'll be NASA”). He was shocked to learn that children at other schools had to pay for lunch. “That's mean,” he said. His friend Luis agreed: “That's cold.”
It was a different story for Kaylee Rabson, a fifth-generation Butte resident whose son attended West University. “It was definitely very isolating when we were younger,” she said. “Like, if we went to a hot lunch, it was kind of embarrassing.” Now, all of her son's friends eat school lunches, at least when pizza or walking tacos (ground beef, veggies and cheese in a bag of Doritos) are on the menu.
“It's, 'I'm going to eat a hot lunch not because I have to, but because it looks delicious.'” It really broke down the stigma,” Rabson said. “They're just having lunch together there.''
This article was published in collaboration with The New York Times' Headway team. Highland news.
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