School lunch participation dropped 7 percent in some of the largest U.S. districts with the expiration of a waiver allowing free meals for all students during the pandemic, said an anti-hunger group on Wednesday. The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) said Congress should enact legislation making meals free for all students and end the decades-old system of charging for meals based on household income.
“The return to pre-pandemic operations results in too many children missing out on the nutrition they need to fuel their health and learning,” said FRAC president Luis Guardia. “It’s time to move forward with permanent nationwide healthy school meals for all.”
In a report, FRAC said its survey of 91 large school districts from Massachusetts to Hawaii found that school breakfast participation fell 5 percent and school lunch 7 percent from April 2022, when the waiver was in effect, to October 2022, when it was not.
“Despite efforts to sustain and expand students’ access to school meals, districts continued to face a multitude of challenges that affect participation and program visibility,” said the report. “Rising food costs, labor shortages and supply chain disruptions, coupled with the return of charging for meals, have contributed to reports of declining participation in many school districts.”
USDA data also showed a decline; school lunch down 9 percent and school breakfast down 3 percent nationwide in the same time span studied by FRAC. The waiver that allowed free meals to all students during the 2021-22 school year also provided a higher reimbursement rate for schools.
FRAC’s Large School District Report is available here.