Free school meals program continued through June 30

By: Derrick Forsythe, Correspondent
Posted 1/28/21

Students in area school districts will continue to have the benefit of free meals provided through a program meant to bring relief to families who may need assistance. 

The Seamless Summer …

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Free school meals program continued through June 30

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Students in area school districts will continue to have the benefit of free meals provided through a program meant to bring relief to families who may need assistance. 

The Seamless Summer Program offers free meals for every student, regardless of qualifications, eliminating the concerns for providing that basic nutritional need. The program has been extended through June 30, 2021 and is available to students in the Warren County R-III and Wright City R-II School Districts.

“It’s one less thing families have to worry about,” said R-III Superintendent Dr. Gregg Klinginsmith. “If their income has changed they have an opportunity that their kids will get a meal of breakfast and lunch every day they have school.”

This applies for both seated and virtual students, as the district provides a delivery option to students who are learning virtually and do not have transportation. 

The program is provided through the United States Department of Agriculture, available to schools participating in the National School Lunch or School Breakfast Program. Initially, this program centered around providing meals during the summer months, outside of regular session. In response to COVID-19, the relief effort was put in place to ensure students would continue to have meals during non-summer months.

In the past, families had to meet qualifications for free-and-reduced meals, but this program does not require meeting those protocols. Nor does it require an individual enrollment process, which creates some potential future challenges.

“Because of that free feeding program applying to everybody, we haven’t been as successful at getting our free-and-reduced forms out and submitted,” said R-II Superintendent Dt. Chris Berger. “That form has other financial implications and the primary one is it’s a weighting factor on our foundation formula. I think we’re all concerned that our free and reduced lunch numbers are going to look deflated when that’s not the case, because they’re able to get the Seamless Summer Program.”

It will be necessary for families to turn in those forms in order to continue receiving support under the free-and-reduced model once this current program has expired, Berger said.

“It’s actually a different funding source than what we get for the regular school,” said Berger. “After summer school, that would end, and we would likely return to the old model.”

Families wishing to continue receiving free-and-reduced lunches beyond June 30 will need to work with the schools in continuing that qualification process.

Warren County School District, Wright City School District

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