Board hears plan to offer free breakfast, lunch at four district schools
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Thursday, June 4, 2015, 11:55 p.m. — Students who attend four Nelson County schools may soon be able to get breakfast and lunch at no cost — regardless of their family’s income.
April Peach, the district’s director of school nutrition, explains the plan to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students at four of the district’s schools.
April Peach, the district’s director of school nutrition, told the Nelson County Board of Education that four district schools qualify for the community eligibility provision of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.
The provision allows schools that have a high percentage of students who qualify state or federal aid, or for free or reduced-price lunches, to offer all students breakfast and lunch meals at no cost, Peach explained. Other factors include the school enrollment, the number of meals served and the average number of students who participate in school meals.
The four schools eligible to participate in the program include Horizon Academy, Boston, New Haven and Bloomfield Elementary schools. The four schools will participate for four years, at which time they must reapply.
Schools that qualify under the community eligibility provision will no longer need to deal with the paperwork that goes along with the free and reduced lunch program. Instead, the state evaluates student data to determine the number of children eligible, including homeless youth, Head Start students, foster children and children whose families receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits.
The program won’t change the cafeteria menus in participating schools; the only change will be to the way the school district is reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Peach said the goal is for the program to be self-sustaining. Each year the district will have an opportunity to add a school or schools that qualify for the program.
A proposal will be presented to the board of education for its approval at its monthly meeting June 16 at the district’s central office on Wildcat Lane.
-30-
