Wichita schools to discontinue universal free lunches, preserve free breakfast next year

Wichita Public Schools will discontinue its universal free lunch program while preserving free breakfast for all students during the 2022-23 school year.

School nutrition funding comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In March, Congress let a pandemic relief waiver program lapse that had provided for schools across the country to offer all meals to students for free over the past two school years.

“I think we all want our kids to be able to come to school and get food, but this is not something that we had a choice in,” Wichita school board member Sheril Logan said at Monday evening’s meeting.

USD 259 produces 45,000 breakfasts and lunches a day, according to the district website.

Students who are receiving SNAP benefits or other supplemental meal benefits will automatically be certified for free lunches. For all other students, the district is re-implementing its free and reduced-price lunch policy.

“We are not eliminating access to free meals,” 259 Operations Division Director Fabián Armendáriz told the board. “Families will continue to have the opportunity to apply for meals through the free and reduced meal form.”

The form will become available for parents in July and can be found in enrollment packets for the 2022-23 school year.

The district’s strategic communications team could not provide the unit cost for a school lunch when asked. It’s unclear if the cost has been set for next school year.

During the pandemic, the district began serving breakfast in the classroom for elementary students and providing grab-and-go breakfast options at middle and high schools.

“For a lot of our secondary schools, we understand that a lot of our students get to school and they’re not hungry when they get there first thing in the morning, but as their first hour progresses, they start getting hungry,” Armendáriz said.

Meal carts located throughout the building allow students to pick up breakfast and eat in their second hour.

“I’m thankful that we’re able to give a free breakfast because we at least can ensure when a kid gets to school that they have something in their tummies,” Logan said.

This story was originally published May 5, 2022 at 2:47 PM.