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A change to Middletown’s school lunch program will have students eating better and families saving more money next fall.
The Middletown City School District is expanding its involvement in the National School Lunch Program to add a Community Eligibility Option — meaning all 6,800 students will have the option for a free breakfast and free lunch next fall, according to George Long, business manager.
The percentage of Middletown City Schools students receiving free- or reduced-price lunches has continued to rise in the last decade. It went from 41 percent a decade ago to 76 percent this year, up 2 percent from 2012.
Long said in May he was approached by staff from Sodexo, the district’s contracted food services company, with the possibility of participating in the Community Eligibility Option (CEO). The state of Ohio just recently became eligible for the change in federal legislation that occurred in 2010.
“All our students would have the opportunity to receive a nutritious lunch everyday,” Long said. “All students would qualify at the same level, removing a lot of the stigma we’ve seen in the past.”
Participating districts must have at least 40 percent of students “identified” through assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or other identifiers such as being homeless, according to Ohio Department of Education.
Long said there would be no negative impacts to the district’s budget with providing more free lunches, but in fact, the district would see an increase of about $30,000 per month in federal tax dollars through reimbursements for each lunch.
“We will have more money to work with as it relates to the amount and quality of food we put on those trays,” Long said. “Fresh fruits and vegetables are the direction we want our students focusing on. We want them eating more nutritiously.”
The Middletown district in April served 79,614 free or reduced lunches. In the same month, about 14,490 paid lunches were served, according to the district.
Middletown’s government reimbursement is $2.88 per free lunch; $2.48 per reduced lunch; and only $0.29 for each paid lunch.
Long said as a result of the free lunches for all students, the district will no longer have to collect about $20,000 in student fees for school supplies. Those school fees will disappear because they were previously based on the number of students getting a free or reduced lunch.
With the additional $30,000 per month in federal reimbursements, Middletown’s food services will be able to purchase higher quality foods and more fresh fruits and vegetables, including green peppers and kiwi fruit, said Cindy DeZarn, Sodexo general manager. The district also has the goal of expanding its Future Chefs contest to the middle and high schools next year.
“I really like the idea of having more offerings and opportunities for fresh fruits and vegetables,” said Katie McNeil, school board member.
Susie Peil, of Middletown, said her two sons in the district — a sixth grader and ninth grader — exclusively eat the school lunches and will pay for extra snacks. She said it amounts to $100 per month, about $900 per year, for her two growing boys to eat at school.
“This is a good opportunity for the school community and a number of students in the school system,” Peil said. “I would be interested to know what’s happening to the standardized test scores,” with more students taking a breakfast and lunch.
Peil said her sons usually always eat breakfast at home but will also eat the additional breakfast items at school.
“There are some things they like more than others; it’s hard to fill them up,” Peil said. “It’s the social thing … they eat the breakfast because it’s there and provided and everyone in the class is eating it.”
Peil said she will likely use the money saved from lunches to provide “extra educational pursuits” or music lessons for her children.
DeAnna Shores, school board member, said she hopes parents will take an active role in providing more fruits and vegetables to their children. She said it can be costly to provide all the proper fruits and vegetables needed each day, but just a couple times each week would help.
“We have to be supported by the households; so when (the kids) enjoy those foods at school, to be able to go home and impart that education and say I really like kiwi and want that green fruit,” Shores said.
Long said the new Community Eligibility Option has a four-year guarantee for participating school districts. If the federal program isn’t renewed after four years, families would have to go back to paying.
“This is another barrier to improve learning that can be removed,” Long said.
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