The Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools are adding a free lunch and breakfast program for all elementary and preschool students in the district.
The free program starts Sept. 1 at all KCKPS elementary schools and preschools. The district’s director of nutritional services believes the KCK district is the first one in the state of Kansas to elect this free meals program for so many schools. Other districts may choose it for a few schools.
“We elected the most amount of schools that’s ever been elected in Kansas at this point,” said Josh Mathiasmeier, director of nutritional services. “We are one of the higher needs programs in Kansas.
“This just takes away some of the barriers that keep families from participating in our meals program,” Mathiasmeier said. “This option makes meals more available to more of our students.”
Good nutrition is important to education, he believes.
“Nothing supports the educational mission of the schools more than having a child have a healthy meal, whether at school or at home, because we believe it’s one of the pillars of learning, which is nutrition,” Mathiasmeier said.
The change will affect an estimated 13,000 children in elementary schools and preschools, he said. There is an estimated increase of about 500 children enrolled this year.
Mathiasmeier said the students may still bring their lunch from home or eat breakfast at home if they choose.
Last year, 89 percent of the students qualified for free and reduced lunches, he said. This year’s percentage is still being calculated.
Currently, secondary schools do not all qualify for this program, and he is continuing to monitor the numbers.
The free lunches and breakfasts are possible through a federally funded program, the Community Eligibility Provision of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which allows schools with high poverty rates to provide free meals. The district is reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its meals programs. Mathiasmeier said that these federal funds for meals will not affect the district’s funding from the state.
The district will no longer have to take applications for free and reduced lunches and breakfasts in the elementary schools, and children no longer will have to bring lunch money to school.
District officials are anticipating that participation will increase this year in the school breakfast and lunch programs.