Students in the Warren County R-III School District will no longer have to worry about missing a meal, thanks to a program offered through the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). 

R-III School Board members agreed during their monthly meeting on July 12 to pursue a partnership between the district’s food service department and DHSS that would provide dinners for students to take home from school. This would complement the provision already in place to supply each student with free breakfast and lunch, which began as part of the COVID-19 relief effort and will continue indefinitely. 

“If we have the ability to support our community in any way they need, we’re going to do that,” said Superintendent Dr. Gregg Klinginsmith. “Having kids not have to worry about where their next meal will come from frees them up to learn during the school day.”

R-III Food Service Director Debbie Linke says this idea was initially brought to the table by former administrator Dr. Jill Schowe, who learned of it through professional development. At the time, R-III did not have the staff to handle the additional labor necessary for preparing evening meals, but Linke says circumstances are different since the inception of the four-day work week.

“Now we have people who want the hours, so I thought it might be a good time to start that program,” said Linke. “On top of the increased need for food in pandemic times, we had families we have supplied resources for to keep them fed.”

During Monday’s meeting, the board also voted 5-0 to approve the hiring of an additional food service employee to work the afternoon and evening hours in preparing the dinners. Linke said the total additional cost for labor to add the third free meal will be around $1,200 per week, combining the new positions and extra hours of existing employees.

It is still unknown exactly when the program will be active in the district. Starting off, Linke anticipates R-III food service will prepare between 200-300 meals to be sent home as dinners. The interest and impact will then be assessed to determine the longevity of the partnership.

“We don’t have a start date, because we have to still hire some people,” said Linke. “We’re really going to try to make it happen by the beginning of this school year.”

While all students in the district are eligible for the free meals, Linke said it is imperative for those families qualifying for free and reduced-price lunches to still complete the application for that program. These forms provide feedback to the state and result in funding for the district. That information can also potentially identify the families as qualifying for additional resources, such as free hot spots or reduced phone bills.

Currently, 49.2 percent of R-III students are eligible for the free-and-reduced program. Rebecca Boone Elementary has the highest number of students qualifying with 62 percent, and 55 percent of Daniel Boone Elementary students meet the criteria. 

“We should not have any food insecure children,” said Klinginsmith. “There’s a certain population that needs to know that the meals will be there for them.”