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School meal portion sizes were a major theme in the community conversation with students, many of whom wished they had the option to ask for more food on their trays or return for second helpings. While several food workers in the adult community conversation expressed their willingness to give students extra helpings upon request, students may be uncertain about the rules and apprehensive about being denied more servings.
Schools and districts should make second portions available to hungry students, especially when it comes to serving fruits and vegetables.
Additionally, information on school serving policies should be clearly and consistently distributed to students and families to raise awareness and minimize confusion. A few students suggested that cafeterias could be set up with buffet-style tables where they can serve themselves, similar to university dining halls.
While this may not be feasible given the USDA nutrition guidelines and school capacity, Greeley-Evans does offer a self-serve salad bar option that all students in its schools can visit.
The most effective and equitable solution to food insecurity at school is for the federal government to eliminate eligibility and pricing requirements for free school meals and reimburse schools for the full cost of providing every meal they serve. Although a limited number of states have already implemented no-cost school meal programs, these initiatives are ultimately constrained by federal requirements.
Students at most schools are still required to complete meal application forms so that the federal government will reimburse their state at three separate rates of pricing—free meals, reduced-price meals, and fully family-funded meals.
The federal government should consider the Universal School Meals Program Act a blueprint for implementing free school meals for every student.
Bernie Sanders I-VT and Rep. Ilhan Omar D-MN , would enable every child in a federally funded school to receive hot breakfast and lunch at no cost.
Additionally, the act would raise the federal reimbursement rate for school meals to address higher food costs, as well as offer additional incentives for schools that get food from locally grown sources.
Opponents of free school meals often argue for a more incremental approach than simply eliminating eligibility and pricing requirements—for example, slowly but steadily expanding the Community Eligibility Provision CEP to include more high-need schools. No-cost meals are also politically popular: Support for these programs among American adults ranges between 63 percent and 86 percent in surveys from the Food Research and Action Center, 38 the Urban Institute, 39 and the National Parents Union.
Government must expand school equipment and nutrition operation grants for districts and schools that need additional assistance to serve students more meals. Experts expect student meal participation to increase slowly rather than all at once, which will create a natural transition period for school nutrition directors to plan ahead effectively.
However, many schools will inevitably face issues related to food storage, safe refrigeration, and kitchen capacity. The Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act H.
Both Congress and state governments must recognize that making menu transitions is no easy feat for school districts and should provide them incentives and funding opportunities to do so. States that have already implemented no-cost school meal programs will have limited success in systemically changing the application process without federal intervention.
This is because both state and federal legislation often rely on free and reduced-price school meal eligibility as an indicator of student socioeconomic status, which helps determine critical supports that schools receive, such as Title I funding under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Many researchers and education activists have pointed out that free and reduced-price meal eligibility is already an imperfect measure of student socioeconomic status, especially since the passage of the CEP dropped the reporting requirements for some schools in high-poverty areas, making these determinations more difficult.
decennial census data. The community conversations with members of the Greeley-Evans school district attest to the critical importance of free school meals for all while also highlighting remaining opportunities for improving food quality, expanding available food options, addressing ongoing capacity challenges, and including student voice in menu development.
While Colorado and seven other states have taken decisive action to provide no-cost school meals to all of their public school students, the work of addressing student food insecurity and creating healthy learning conditions is far from complete.
Schools, districts, and states must continue the vital work of expanding and strengthening school meal programs. However, systemic change must originate with the federal government. Until Congress and the executive branch enact meaningful legislation to eliminate eligibility requirements and transform school data reporting, free school meals will remain limited to the few, not the many.
Additionally, the authors would like to thank Nadia Davis from the School Nutrition Association for connecting them to the district, as well as the participants of both community conversations for their willingness to share their experiences and ideas.
Finally, the authors thank CAP staff members Madeline Shepherd, Emma Lofgren, Paige Shoemaker Demio, Tania Otero Martinez, Lisette Partelow, and Jared Bass for their valuable contributions to this report. The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone.
A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible. The K Education Policy team is committed to developing policies for a new education agenda rooted in principles of opportunity for all and equity in access.
Sign Up. Center for American Progress Challenges and Opportunities of Providing Free School Meals for All Chapters Chapters. Share Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email Print. Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email Print. Media Contact Em Espey Senior Manager, Media Relations.
Government Affairs Madeline Shepherd Director, Federal Affairs. Emma Lofgren Associate Director, State and Local Government Affairs. In this article.
This report contains a correction. The perspectives that participants shared informed the key themes of this report. Menu One major theme of the community conversations was the quality and variety of food at school, as well as the lack of student voice in developing menus.
Variety of food options Students described feeling tired of the two-week menu rotation, with some saying that their favorite meals are served less often, and meals they do not enjoy are offered frequently. Food service The final theme of the community conversations was the food service delivery system itself.
Expanded breakfast delivery models Both focus groups brought up the importance of making breakfast more accessible to students. At lunchtime, it is full-on chaos getting near through the line with three to four staff members in a matter of two hours.
Short lunch periods Both conversation groups mentioned the struggles associated with short, hurried lunch periods. An elementary school teacher commented: I wonder about the pressure on our staff being impacted by the schedule that we have for lunch, how fast we are getting groups of kids through lunch.
The kitchen staff involved in the conversation all agreed with this assessment, and one kitchen specialist shared her own story: I do work in a middle and high school now, but I have been in that elementary environment.
Small portion sizes Almost every student mentioned that the portion sizes were too small and that they often felt that they did not have the funds to pay for a second portion. An elementary school teacher explained: [The lunch staff] never refuse kids extra helpings.
Free or reduced meals, including milk, are served under the National School Lunch , School Breakfast and Special Milk programs. Parents will receive an application form along with a letter, according to FDACS.
The school food authority allows parents to submit one application for all students. The following household size and income criteria will be used for determining eligibility:. Households may apply for benefits any time during the school year.
If a household is not eligible now, but has a decrease in household income, an increase in household size or a household member becomes unemployed, they should fill out an application at that time. Foster children are eligible for free meal or milk benefits regardless of the household income. If a household has foster children living with them and they wish to apply for meals or milk benefits for them, they should contact the school for help with the application.
This must be the school district in which you will be applying for benefits for your children. Stay Here Continue. Toggle navigation.
Children Try before buy option healthy meals solutiohs learn! Hillsborough County Student Reruced-price Services Toy sample giveaways for holidays healthy meals every school day. Before you proceed, please follow this link to Reduced-prife out if Reduced-price meal solutions child's school is a Community Eligibility Provision CEP school. Please DO NOT fill out an application if your child attends one of these schools. If you have any other children in your household that are NOT ENROLLED in a CEP school splease CONTINUE with this application. APPLY NOW. Download Application Information for Parents: English Spanish.
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