LCSD1 continues to provide free meals to all students
Sep. 2—CHEYENNE — The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued funding and the flexibility to us the funding as needed through the 2021-22 school year, which will allow Laramie County School District 1 schools to continue to offer free meals to all students.
In an effort to support families who struggle with food and nutrition insecurity, students will be provided breakfast and lunch at no cost, but meals will not be offered over holidays.
Carla Bankes, LCSD1's Food and Nutrition Services Program coordinator, said this doesn't just help food insecure households, it makes students equal. Bankes said any parent can send their children to school this year without the worry of not knowing if their child will be fed or meet certain nutrition standards.
"Kids can't learn if they're not nourished," she said.
A food nutrition study in 2018 found public schools were the single healthiest source of U.S. food consumed across a sample of children and adults. This has become even more prevalent in families with students across the nation, because nearly 12 million children are currently living in households without the ability to feed them enough.
Although all students qualify for free meals, LCSD1 Nutrition Service administrators are asking qualifying families to still fill out the free and reduced meal applications. This helps schools in the district to receive Title I funding, in order to maintain the programs after pandemic exceptions end.
Not all school districts in the state are asking parents to fill out the applications, but Bankes said keeping track of the statistics in the community provides clarity on food insecurity in LCSD1. Planning for the future of students' nutrition and food accessibility is her main prerogative.
"We just want to make sure that we are meeting the needs of all of our buildings," she said.
Funding for free lunches comes from the USDA's Seamless Summer Option program. It usually only runs through the summer, but it was extended because the pandemic has impacted many families across the United States.
Due to the funding coming from the Summer Seamless Option, LCSD1 must meet certain standards. There must be five components to the meal, which add up to a certain nutrient and calorie standard for the day, as well as a weekly goal.
The free breakfast and lunch option has increased the number of daily meals provided significantly. Pre-pandemic, LCSD1 provided breakfast to 1,200 students, and now it is up to 3,000 every morning. Across the district, students eating lunch also increased from 6,000 on average to more than 7,000.
Outside of the normal school year, the staff at LCSD1 Nutrition Services worked to provide 500,000 meals to students during emergency feeding, and almost 300,000 meals over the summer.
"If you think about it," Bankes said, "we can feed these kiddos 10 meals a week, five breakfasts and five lunches a week. And that's huge for some families."
Not only was LCSD1 supported by the USDA, the Wyoming Department of Education made sure students across the state were fed. This summer, nearly 1 million meals were served to Wyoming children.
"We are so thankful for the people on the front lines of this program," said Tamra Jackson, the Child Nutrition Programs state director with WDE, in a Wednesday press release.
Jasmine Hall is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's education reporter. She can be reached by email at jhall@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3167. Follow her on Twitter @jasminerhphotos and on Instagram @jhrose25.
