Washington schools chief calls for free lunch for all students

Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal wants all Washington public school students to eat lunch for free.

He's calling on state lawmakers to fund a universal free lunch program to feed students regardless of their families' income.

About half of Washington's students currently attend schools that provide free meals to everyone, according to the state superintendent's office.

"We've still got 330,000 students who could use meals in this state that we're going to make eligible," Reykdal said during a press conference last week.

Congress funded free lunches for all students during the pandemic but chose to end the program in June. That meant many low-income families across the country returned to the pre-pandemic system, in which they must apply for free or reduced-price meals.

Federal requirements govern student eligibility for those meals. A family of four with an annual household income of about $51,000, for example, pays about $2,330 per year for their children to receive breakfast and lunch at school, according to OSPI.

Under that system, Reykdal says "paperwork is sometimes more important to regulators than just focusing on what young people need."

“Students and parents are nervous about missing the deadline for applications or not having enough money on their student accounts,” said Megan de Vries, director of food and nutrition services at Edmonds School District. “We want students to spend their energy on learning, not stressing about basic needs.”

Reykdal is proposing $86 million a year to expand the free lunch program in Washington state. If adopted during the 2023 legislative session, which begins in January, free lunch could be available to all kids as soon as the 2023-24 school year.

Currently, Washington schools may continue the universal free lunch program this school year if they qualify for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Community Eligibility Provision. The superintendent's office estimates about 1,200 schools qualify, meaning nearly half of students in the state are attending a school where universal free lunch is available.

After Congress opted to discontinue the federal program, California, Vermont and Massachusetts adopted their own universal free lunch models, similar to what Reykdal is now proposing.

Seattle parent Jeff Lew praised Reykdal's proposal. Lew became a universal-free-lunch advocate to fight the stigma associated with qualifying free lunch and started the Lunch Debt group to spread the word.

"I am hoping that the proposal will be passed, so that all students can eat for free regardless of family income or background," Lew told KUOW. "Students can’t focus on their studies on an empty stomach."

While states debate the best way forward, federal officials could still revive a nationwide solution in one form or another.

The White House will host a conference later this month to discuss hunger, nutrition, and health, the first such conference in 50 years.

NPR politics reporter Ximena Bustillo says many advocacy groups are asking President Joe Biden to push for a universal school meal system, cheaper prices or offsets that would allow schools to pay for the meals themselves.

That conference is scheduled for Sept. 28.