The U.S. Department of Agriculture will continue to reimburse schools and childcare centers for free lunches to all students through the 2021-2022 school year.
According to the USDA, up to 12 million children are currently living in homes where they don’t always have enough to eat during the pandemic. MCCSC Director of Nutrition Services Hattie Johnson says the corporation has been campaigning for free student lunches for years.
"We have consistently been told year after year after we couldn’t afford it," she said. "There’s no way we could do it and then, COVID, and all of a sudden they can do it."
Thirty-two percent of MCCSC students are eligible for free and reduced meals in a normal year. Johnson was surprised free lunches were offered last year and was even more surprised they were offered this coming school year.
"So, I’ve been asking myself now that they’ve done what’s been asked for more than 20 years, will they ever be able to back away?" says Johnson.
Johnson and other food service workers are hopeful free lunches will become a permanent policy.
