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The school system received a grant from No Kid Hungry and used that money to purchase the carts. Pictured are the carts at Mossy Creek Elementary School on the first day of school. (Photo/Stephanie Hill)
School lunches are free again this year for all students, but filling out free and reduced lunch applications can aid students in other areas.
“Last year during the pandemic, the United States Department of Agriculture extended waivers and allowed us to feed all students at no cost,” said White County School System School Nutrition Director Abby Rowland. “At the end of the school year, we got notice they were going to extend those again for the duration of this entire school year until June 30 where we can feed any students regardless of income, regardless of status, they eat at no cost, breakfast, lunch and our after school meal program.”
Though students are automatically eligible to eat for free, Rowland asks that parents still complete and return free and reduced lunch applications because the economic data can also aid the district and students in additional areas.
“We use that data for grant funding. We use that data for e-rate or technology funding,” Rowland said. “Individual students take advantage of their free and reduced status; They get waivers for testing [fees], SAT, ACT, AP, some college applications. All of that is waived if you qualify and fill the application out. We still want students to fill that out because there are so many cases where it’s to that students benefit to have a status. If we don’t take the free and reduced applications, all students are automatically considered paid. So scholarships, when the senior applies for scholarships and it asks do you qualify for free and reduced lunch, they won’t be able to check that box if we don’t take the applications.”
The free meals are for all students in grades pre-k to 12th grade. If a person in the household has qualified for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, they don’t need to fill out an application because they’re already listed as free. A family also only needs to fill out one application per family, Rowland said.
As for the meals, for breakfast students have the option of getting food from the grab and go carts. The school system received a grant from No Kid Hungry and used that money to purchase the carts, Rowland said.
If you have any questions, please call the White County School Nutrition office at (706) 865-2315 extension 1703 or 1704. To fill out an application, one can be picked up at any of the schools or go online to ezmealapp.com.